CBJ's Largest Privately Held Companies 2018
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Elite Casino Resorts<br />
4<br />
“We try to do things that will change the landscape<br />
here in the state,” said Dan Kehl, whose family obtained<br />
the first riverboat gambling license in Iowa<br />
more than 25 years ago, pioneering the state’s modern<br />
gaming industry.<br />
Mr. Kehl, CEO of Elite Casino Resorts, which owns<br />
three gaming complexes generating more than $225 million<br />
per year in combined revenue, is currently overseeing a $10<br />
million revamp of its first<br />
land-based venture, Riverside<br />
Casino & Golf Resort, located<br />
south of Iowa City. Elite’s<br />
other properties are Grand<br />
Falls Casino, near Larchwood<br />
in far northwest Iowa, and<br />
Rhythm City Casino Resort,<br />
located at the intersection of<br />
I-80 and I-74 in Davenport.<br />
Riverside has seen tens of<br />
millions of visitors in its 12-<br />
year lifetime and was due for<br />
renewal, Mr. Kehl said. The rehab<br />
includes upgrading all the<br />
DAN KEHL<br />
CEO<br />
finishes and furniture, redoing<br />
two food venues, reworking a<br />
bar, installing facilities for “grab<br />
and go” dining and giving the<br />
show lounge a makeover. Work at the Rees Jones-designed casino,<br />
hotel, golf course and spa is expected to be complete in August.<br />
The improvements are also aimed at making the casino<br />
“more relevant to millennial clientele,” he said. Elite is “dabbling<br />
in some skill-based gaming,” such as Topgolf Swing Suites<br />
– golf simulators featuring comfy lounges, massive screens and<br />
a selection of virtual games for golfers and non-golfers – although<br />
90 percent of the gaming floor will remain devoted to<br />
slot machines and table games.<br />
Rees Jones’ firm also designed the Grand Falls Casino &<br />
Golf Resort, serving the Sioux City-Sioux Falls market. The facility<br />
has been open seven years, with the golf course featuring<br />
a 30-foot waterfall since 2014.<br />
“It’s going well up there. We will start a remodel of our facility<br />
there in a couple of years,” Mr. Kehl said.<br />
Elite’s latest venture, Rhythm City, began with purchase<br />
of the old Treble Clef<br />
gambling boat docked<br />
on Davenport’s riverfront<br />
in 2014. Its<br />
gaming moved inland<br />
to the Elmore Avenue<br />
corridor two years ago<br />
with the completion<br />
of the $100-million<br />
casino-hotel-events<br />
center complex. That<br />
change has been “well<br />
received in the marketplace,”<br />
Mr. Kehl said.<br />
THE TEAM<br />
EXECUTIVE TEAM<br />
Dan Kehl, CEO<br />
Ken Bonnet, COO<br />
Bobby Kehl, Executive Director<br />
of Golf<br />
Dan White, GM Shared Services<br />
Karlyn Ollendick, CIO<br />
Each of Elite’s casinos are outperforming Iowa’s broader<br />
gaming industry, which saw its gambling revenue tick up just<br />
1.1 percent last year according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming<br />
Commission. Adjusted gross gaming revenue increased 4.75<br />
percent at Riverside to $88.1 million, 2 percent at Grand Falls<br />
to $55.6 million, and a whopping 25 percent at Rhythm City,<br />
reaching $65.3 million.<br />
Three separate casino companies were combined in 2015<br />
to form Elite, which is owned by 1,200 Iowans. That’s a fairly<br />
large number of shareholders for a privately held firm, so Elite<br />
acts somewhat like a public company, Mr. Kehl said, but with<br />
key differences. The company is not burdened with quarterly<br />
reports to the Securities Exchange Commission, worries “about<br />
what the stock price did this quarter” or regulations that govern<br />
publicly traded firms.<br />
Adequate financing has been available thus far from local<br />
banks, so going public would “create a lot of issues we don’t<br />
have to worry about,” Mr. Kehl said.<br />
“We look to increase our revenue every year. Our focus is<br />
on maintaining a strong balance sheet through debt reduction<br />
and deploying capital where it makes sense,” he added. A small<br />
executive team allows the firm to make decisions and investments<br />
quickly and easily. “That makes us pretty nimble.”<br />
Elite keeps a close eye on the state for game-changing opportunities.<br />
If the right situation comes along, the company<br />
might consider expanding outside the state, or even a public<br />
offering, Mr. Kehl said. A new division, Elite Hospitality Group,<br />
is pursuing non-gaming opportunities as well.<br />
— Emery Styron<br />
RIVERSIDE CASINO<br />
& GOLF RESORT<br />
12 CBJ’S LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES <strong>2018</strong>