Associated Press
October 13, 1999
BETTENDORF, Iowa -- The chairman and chief executive officer of the Mississippi company buying the Lady Luck casino
played an integral role in the movement to legalize riverboat gambling in Iowa.
But it was also Bernard Goldstein whose family owned Steamboat Development Corp. sailed the Diamond Lady and Emerald
Lady to Biloxi, Miss., in 1992, citing an uneven playing field for Iowa's floating casinos.
Other Iowa boats left before Iowa changed its laws in 1994 and Illinois became the state with greater restrictions
on riverboat gambling.
"Any business, if it's family, is going to close up or move," Goldstein said. "If it's successful,
it's going to stay and grow."
Goldstein's family has owned 50 percent of the Lady Luck since 1994, when it first arrived in the Quad Cities after
Iowa's casino laws had been revised.
Under the agreement, Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. of Biloxi, Miss., a publicly held descendent of Steamboat Development
Corp., will hold full ownership of the Lady Luck -- to be renamed the Isle of Capri -- as well as its parent company,
Las Vegas-based Lady Luck Gaming Corp.
The deal, valued at more than $400 million, is expected to close next spring, pending regulatory approval in Iowa,
Mississippi and Nevada.
Isle of Capri owns and operates seven riverboat, dockside and land-based casinos in Mississippi, Louisiana and
Colorado. The company also operates a harness racing track in Pompano Beach, Fla., and the Enchanted Capri cruise
ship that sails out of New Orleans.
In addition to the Lady Luck riverboat, Lady Luck Gaming operates dockside riverboat casinos and hotels in Natchez
and Coahoma County, Miss.
Goldstein said the recent strong performance of the Lady Luck signals a bright future for the Bettendorf riverfront.
Goldstein said he predicted a decade ago, before taking the Diamond Lady from the Quad Cities to Mississippi, that
the Diamond Lady would create $50 million in development for Bettendorf, with eventual assets of $100 million.
The facilities linked to the Lady Luck are at $90 million, he said.
"I think it's a good operation," he said of the casino complex. "It's a very, very good entertainment
facility."
Nancy Donovan, general manager of the Lady Luck, said Goldstein has been very involved in plans to develop Bettendorf's
riverfront.
The Goldstein family owns about 70 acres along the riverfront and will work with the city on an overall vision
for development, she said.
"I think it's only going to move forward and get better," Donovan said.