The Diamond Jo Casino is a gambling

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

and entertainment complex located in the Port of Dubuque, in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

. The casino is owned and operated by Las Vegas-based

Boyd Gaming Boyd Gaming Corporation is an American gaming and hospitality company based in Paradise, Nevada. The company continues to be run by founder Sam Boyd's family under the management of Sam's granddaughter, Marianne Boyd-Johnson, who currently serv ...

, which also owns the Diamond Jo Casino - Worth in

Northwood, Iowa Northwood is a city and the county seat of Worth County, Iowa, United States, along the Shell Rock River. The population was 2,072 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Northwood is part of the Mason City, Iowa, Mason City M ...

. It is a member of the Iowa Gaming Association, and its license is held by the Dubuque Racing Association, which operates

Q Casino Q Casino (formerly Mystique and Dubuque Greyhound Park & Casino) is a casino located in Dubuque, Iowa. It also was a greyhound racing, greyhound race track until racing ceased there on May 15, 2022. The facility is operated by the non-profit Dub ...

. Beginning operations on May 18, 1994, the Diamond Jo was a 3-level, , 1,500-passenger vessel in Dubuque's Ice Harbor. The boat was a dockside that did not cruise, the casino became land-based when its new facility opened December 11, 2008. The Diamond Jo Casino is located at 301 Bell Street, in the rapidly developing Port of Dubuque. The casino, along with the nearby National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium and other attractions, have helped to create a large and growing tourism market in Dubuque.

Riverboat casino

As a riverboat operation the Diamond Jo was the smaller of Dubuque's two casinos, with of gaming space. It has 777

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keno Keno is a lottery-like gambling game often played at modern casinos, and also offered as a game in some lotteries. Players wager by choosing numbers ranging from 1 through (usually) 80. After all players make their wagers, 20 numbers (some va ...

, and

video poker Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine. History Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like mo ...

games, and 17 table games, including: Big Raise Hold 'em,

Blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...

Craps Craps is a dice game in which players gambling, bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, " ...

Four card poker Four Card Poker is a casino card game similar to Three Card Poker, invented by Roger Snow and owned by Shuffle Master. Description of play The player can place an ante bet or an "Aces Up" bet or both. Five playing cards are dealt to the playe ...

, Let It Ride,

Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

Texas Hold 'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is the most popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five Community card poker, community cards ...

, and Three card poker. The operation had 3 restaurants: the ''Diamond Deli'', ''HighSteaks Restaurant'', and ''Jo's Café''.

History

On April 1, 1991, the Dubuque Racing Association (DRA) and local businessman Robert Kehl opened

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

's first

riverboat casino A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...

in Dubuque's Ice Harbor, the ''Casino Belle''. This boat's operation was short-lived, however, and relocated to

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

in 1993, following a change in ownership. Soon after, the DRA began to search for a new riverboat to operate under the gaming license already in place. The organization selected the Greater Dubuque Riverboat Entertainment Company L.C., and its boat, which was later named the ''Diamond Jo'', following a local naming contest. The name honors businessman Joseph "Diamond Jo" Reynolds, who owned a Dubuque shipping company, among other enterprises. The "first" Diamond Jo Casino began operations on May 18, 1994. After a year and a half, in October 1995, that boat was replaced with a larger, 1,500-passenger riverboat. In July 1999, Dubuque-based Peninsula Gaming purchased the casino operation, and spent $1 million updating the riverboat. Peninsula Gaming continues to operate the casino. In 2006, Peninsula opened a second Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, Iowa, from Dubuque. Peninsula was acquired in November 2012 by

Expansion

In September 2006, Peninsula Gaming officials announced that the Diamond Jo would begin a major expansion, during which it would become a land-based casino. The $75 million project, set to open in November 2008, will include 1,000 slot machines, 17 table games, and a poker room in a new casino. Also included in the project are a 36-lane

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

& entertainment center, 3

restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

, retail stores, and a 1,130-space, $23 million parking ramp. The casino's expanded operation is part of the "America's River Project: Phase II", which will also involve a major expansion of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. The museum will take over the Diamond Jo's existing Portside Building, as well as the riverboat, and renovate them into an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

-like theater and exhibit space.

Land-based casino complex

The land-based complex, which is a short distance away from the old casino property, opened on December 11, 2008. The new, two-story, $82 million facility has approximately 900 slot and video machines, 17 table games, and a separate high-stakes gaming area. The Diamond Jo complex features three sitdown restaurants (The Woodfire Grille, The Filament and Kitchen Buffet), two bars (the Tree Bar and The Game Sports Bar), a 30 lane bowling alley (Cherry Lanes) with scheduled leagues, and an entertainment theatre complex (The Mississippi Moon Bar).

Mississippi Moon Bar

The Mississippi Moon Bar was named after the refrain in the

Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock music, rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their Vocal harmony, vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five d ...

song " Black Water", which the casino uses in their current commercial campaign. The Doobie Brothers were also one of the first groups to perform at the bar.

References

External links

* {{Boyd Gaming Casinos in Iowa Buildings and structures in Dubuque, Iowa Economy of Dubuque, Iowa Tourist attractions in Dubuque, Iowa Boyd Gaming 2008 establishments in Iowa