PENN Breaks Ground on $200m Hollywood Casino to Replace Iowa Riverboat
PENN Entertainment held a groundbreaking ceremony on September 14 for its future Hollywood Casino Hotel Council Bluffs, a new $180 million to $200 million land-based casino in Iowa that will replace the company's adjacent Ameristar Council Bluffs riverboat casino, which has operated for roughly 30 years.
The new casino is expected to open in 2028, pending regulatory approval, according to PENN's own announcement.
What's Being Built
Hollywood Council Bluffs will become the 20th Hollywood-branded gaming property in PENN's portfolio and will include roughly 1,000 slot machines and 25 live table games.
The property will connect to PENN's existing pavilion and hotel, providing guests with direct access to more than 160 hotel rooms and several dining and entertainment venues.
Two new restaurants are planned for the new building: the first Shake Shack in the Omaha metro area and Red Lotus, a fast-casual Asian concept.
"We are incredibly excited for the future of Hollywood Casino Hotel Council Bluffs," said Paul Czak, Vice President and General Manager of Hollywood Council Bluffs, in PENN's release.
"This groundbreaking is a significant milestone on the road to a beautiful new facility that will create hundreds of jobs in the community and provide our guests with an even greater entertainment experience."
Part Of A Wider Shift Away From Riverboats
The Council Bluffs project is PENN's third landside relocation in recent years, following the openings of Hollywood Casino Joliet and Hollywood Casino Hotel Aurora in Illinois in 2025 and 2026.
PENN has also proposed relocating and rebranding its riverboat operations in New Orleans, with a new Hollywood Casino New Orleans targeted for 2029 pending regulatory sign-off.
As in other states, Iowa requires commercial casino operators to maintain an operating agreement with a nonprofit Qualified Sponsoring Organization; representatives of the Iowa West Racing Association, the property's nonprofit partner, attended the groundbreaking.
PENN's Wider Footprint
PENN Entertainment describes itself as an omni-channel provider of retail and online gaming and sports betting entertainment, operating 42 gaming and entertainment destinations across North America alongside its PENN Play loyalty programme and its Penn Interactive digital arm, which runs theScore Bet in the US and Casino in Canada, according to the company's own corporate materials.
The Council Bluffs project adds to a run of land-based upgrades PENN has pursued in recent years as it moves several of its older riverboat properties onto dry land.
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The riverboat casino model, once a legal workaround that let Iowa and other states permit commercial gambling only on water, has been phased out state by state as regulators allowed operators to move onto land.
PENN's Ameristar Council Bluffs is one of the last of that generation still operating in the state, and its planned closure, alongside the opening of the new Hollywood Council Bluffs, mirrors the transition PENN has already made in Illinois.
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