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Construction has begun on a $200 million casino resort that will replace one of Iowa’s longest-running riverboat casinos with a modern, land-based property. Penn Entertainment broke ground Sept. 14 on Hollywood Casino Hotel Council Bluffs, marking the next phase of the company’s plan to move gaming operations off the longtime Ameristar riverboat.
The project is separate from Hollywood Online Casino, Penn Entertainment’s real-money online casino app, which the company has rolled out in several states but which is not available to Iowa players, since the state does not currently permit real-money online casino gambling.
Riverboat era ends after three decades
The Ameristar Riverboat Casino has operated in Council Bluffs since the mid-1990s, with its gaming floor spread across three levels of a permanently docked vessel. It will eventually be replaced by a single-story casino built on land, continuing Penn Entertainment‘s push to modernize its older riverboat and dockside properties.
The company has pursued similar redevelopment projects in other regional markets as more states move away from requiring casinos to operate on riverboats, giving operators room to build larger, more efficient facilities.
What the new casino offers
Hollywood Casino Council Bluffs will feature about 1,000 slot machines and 25 live table games on a single gaming floor. The property will also expand the resort’s food and beverage lineup, including the first Shake Shack in the Omaha metro area and Red Lotus, a fast-casual Asian restaurant. A new parking garage is planned as well.
Council Bluffs Mayor Jill Shudak called the groundbreaking more than a construction milestone. “Groundbreakings like this are much more about bricks, steel and construction,” Shudak said. “They represent investments, opportunities and confidence in the future of our community.”
Jobs, timeline and 2028 opening
As First Alert 6 reported, the project is expected to create about 450 construction jobs, plus roughly 50 permanent positions once the casino opens in 2028. Hollywood Casino Council Bluffs will connect directly to the existing Ameristar pavilion and its more than 160-room hotel, allowing several current amenities — including 1853 Bistro and Steakhouse, the Sportsbook Restaurant and Bar, and Club 38 VIP Lounge — to keep operating through the transition.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission previously approved the relocation plan and a 15-year extension of Penn Entertainment’s partnership with the Iowa West Racing Association, the nonprofit group all Iowa casino operators must partner with to run gaming operations. Construction is now underway, though the land-based casino still needs final regulatory sign-off before opening.
Part of a broader company strategy
Once complete, Hollywood Casino Council Bluffs will become Penn Entertainment’s 20th Hollywood-branded casino. It’s also the company’s third riverboat-to-land conversion in recent years, following Hollywood Casino Joliet and Hollywood Casino Hotel Aurora, both in Illinois, which opened in 2025 and 2026, respectively, according to a Penn Entertainment announcement.
“We are thrilled to be celebrating yet another transition from riverboat gaming to a new best-in-class entertainment destination,” Penn Entertainment CEO and President Jay Snowden said in a statement announcing the groundbreaking.
The Council Bluffs project follows a similar announcement from Penn Entertainment about relocating its Boomtown Casino New Orleans riverboat into a proposed $195 million land-based Hollywood Casino in Louisiana, part of a broader industry shift as regional operators move away from riverboat-only gaming.
