Sioux City Riverboat Casino deals its last deck

The casino parent, Penn National Gaming Co., wanted to remain open while appealing a ruling by the gaming commission. In April the commission ordered the casino to close because it doesn’t meet license requirements. The closure will cost 242 Argosy employees their jobs. But they won't be leaving empty-handed.
 
The company is distributing nearly US$ 2.2 million in severance payments and  bonuses to workers who stay until the very end, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Reading, Pa. In May, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection.
 
Last week, a federal bankruptcy judge approved the employee payments, which include US$ 1.7 million in severance and US$ 464,000 in bonuses.
 
Hourly workers employed for at least a year are eligible for one week's pay for every year of service, up to 52 weeks, while salaried employees can receive two weeks' pay for every year, according to the court documents.
 
In addition, retention bonuses of US$ 700 each for 202 hourly employees, US$ 1,000 for supervisors, information technology, accounting and marketing employees, and US$ 1,400 for mangers also will be paid out. Ten top officials -- described in court records as "key employees critical to the continued operation" of the boat -- will collect a total of US$ 286,635 in "close bonuses," undisclosed additional payments based on a percentage of their base salaries.
 
Because displaced Argosy workers are losing their jobs through no fault of their own, they also will be eligible for state unemployment benefits. They will be eligible for up to 39 weeks of unemployment, beyond the normal 26 weeks, because it involves the shuttering of a facility, said Kerry Koonce, a spokeswoman for Iowa Workforce Development.
 
State and local officials also continue to express hope that as many of the ex-Argosy workers as possible transition to the new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City, which is scheduled to open at 8 p.m. Friday.
 
Nearly all of the 500 jobs are filled at the Hard Rock complex, which also includes a hotel, three restaurants and three bars. But soon after Friday's Supreme Court ruling, the Hard Rock issued a news release saying it is "still seeking rock stars to join their team." The Hard Rock scheduled a "special hiring session" last Saturday morning.
 
While there are openings in all departments, the land-based casino said it has specific needs for bartenders, servers and other food and beverage personnel. In addition, the casino said it is also looking to hire experienced table games dealers and finance professionals.
 
The 30,000-square-foot Hard Rock casino floor is replacing the Argosy, which has 21,000 square feet of gaming space on two decks. The boat, which came from a casino in Kansas City, has operated in Sioux City since 2003.
 
Under its lease with the city, the Argosy owner has up to 60 days after the casino closes to remove the boat and adjacent barge from the riverfront, City Attorney Nicole Harris said Tuesday. If it is not removed after two months, the city would have the option of removing it at a reasonable cost and then billing the owner, Harris said.
 
A contract dispute between Penn National and its then-nonprofit partner, Missouri River Historical Development, set off a long, hard-fought legal battle that ultimately cost the Argosy its license.
 
After talks between Penn and MRHD broke down, the IRGC in June 2012 decided to take bids for a land-based casino. In April 2013, the IRGC awarded the license to MRHD and its new partner, Hard Rock developer SCE Partners. The Hard Rock group beat out three other applicants, including Penn, which proposed two different sites for a Hollywood-style casino.
 
In August 2013, the commission rejected Argosy's request for a standard one-year renewal of its license on the grounds that MRHD refused to sign off on the application.