Iowa GOP leader: New Casino hopes fading - 2004-02-24
As a important gambling debate looms, the leading Republican in the Iowa House said Tuesday that prospects are dimming for communities that staked their development hopes on new casinos.

House Speaker Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, argues that gambling-expansion foes have been better organized and more vocal than residents of five counties that passed gambling referendums. He said those communities have failed to make their case to lawmakers that more gambling licenses should be issued.
Read the full story at Quad City Times

Casino Loyale - 2004-02-24
Glamour doesn't really abound in the western Willamette Valley, where the oaks give way to Douglas fir and Highway 18 starts into the Siuslaw National Forest en route to the Oregon Coast.

But Spirit Mountain Casino, Polk County's answer to
better known gaming destinations, manages a rustic
but spiffed-up feel that attracts large crowds to its well-appointed property, a healthy portion of them from the Portland area, and keeps them coming back.
Read the full story at Portland Tribune