On April 1, 1991, three riverboat casinos opened in Iowa--the first in the country outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Iowa was at the forefront of an entertainment industry that has led to tremendous growth in the state's economy.

Iowa's gaming industry has exceeded expectations in extraordinary ways. Today, Iowa has 17 commercial casinos: The 18th casino is expected to open May 26, 2011. Casinos have become Iowa's top tourist attraction and a major employer. The industry paid over $3.6 billion in taxes and has had over 322 million patrons in the past 20 years. They have also donated hundreds of millions of dollars to schools, libraries, museums and other community and state projects.

In past 20 years, the state-regulated gaming industry is one of the more successful homegrown business initiatives for Iowa.