Cedar Crossing Casino unveiled

So "Cedar Crossing" it is.

That's the name of a casino project proposed for downtown Cedar Rapids. The official license application is now in the hands of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Local investors turned in their homework early, last Friday. The application was due today at 2 p.m..

Cedar Crossing. How does that strike you? Not "Roulette Rapids" or "Flood 'O Bucks" or "The Sixth Smell" or "Mount Winmore." Just be glad no one ever asks me to name anything. Ever.

By the way, the sixth smell is money. More than $150 million is being sunk into this project.

I guess Cedar Crossing is fine, just fine. Although it sounds more like an outlet mall or a town home development than a gilded gambling palace peddling the tantalizing possibilities of riches and sin. It could be a bar in Washington D.C. Or perhaps an industrial park near Houston, Texas. Not surprising that this combo has been used before. Cedars and crossings are all over the place.

Original or not, its backers contend we're in for a real economic development treat. From today's news release:

This will be an "urban casino," much different from what Mayor Ron Corbett dubbed "cornfield casinos" in other parts of the state. Our joint will be a flashy, multi-level Vegas on the river, not slots in the sticks.

It's going to have breathtaking downtown views, the Sinclair Steak House, a nod to the city's meatpacking history, and the Kingston Market Buffet, an all-you can eat tribute to the sacrifices of our west bank pioneer settlers. They bravely tamed the wilderness with hopes that, someday, peel-and-eat shrimp might be available in massive quantities.

This is also a significant architectural addition to this fair city. Lead investor Steve Gray offered a description in this morning's Gazette:

OPN, based in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, has certainly put its mark on this town, with the Great America Building, the new downtown library, the Convention Complex, the Federal Courthouse, the Hotel at Kirkwood, to name a few. I've actually heard a few rumblings recently from folks about OPN "fatigue." With success comes overexposure, I guess.

The firm does have a distinctive style:

I definitely should have gone into the glass business.

I'll probably be writing more about Cedar Crossing later in the week. But, first, I'd like to collect your latest opinions on the casino project, its name, its design, its potential economic effects, whatever you want to sound off on. It's free, and all you can eat. Jump in.