NORTHWOOD – Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood saw a decline in revenue and admissions in fiscal year 2013 compared to 2012.
According to a report released by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, Iowa’s casinos and riverboats showed adjusted gross revenue of about $1.44 billion in fiscal year 2013, which is down from a record year in 2012 which showed $1.46 billion in revenue.
There are three racetrack casinos and 15 riverboats licensed to offer legal gambling in the state at this time. (The commission is set to commence on requesting proposals from qualified vendors for an analysis of gaming markets in Iowa in October of this year, to see if new markets for casinos exist.)
At Diamond Jo – a 36,683 square foot “floating” casino located in Northwood, Iowa and run by Diamond Jo Worth, LLC – adjusted gross revenue was $70,054,527 in 2012 with 1,150,654 admissions to the casino. In 2013, adjusted gross revenue was $66,536,532 with 1,093,815 admissions. Both years showed “wins per capita” at $61. Kim Pang of Mason City is the General Manager at Diamond Jo.
Diamond Jo Worth stinks. I’m done going there. You can’t win at the slots. You can’t even get any credits to play on. This casino is greedy. I lost $140 in less than an hour playing 2 quarter machines and penny machines. Got no credits. How sad. Years ago I could play all afternoon on $140. The fun is gone.
I used to 2 work at a couple casinos out in nevada plus i used to play a lot there and I figured out right away that diamond joes sucks. I used to make a decent living at the casinos but not here.
We used to come there about every 6 weeks, but we are done coming there. When you sold out to these “CROOKS” we will never come back again. We will now go to Jackpot Junction, Mystic Lake, The Rose or some other casino that isn’t associated with “CROOKS” like you have become.
We used to have fun coming. We would meet friends and have dinner, play and etc.. But you “CROOKS” can keep your stolen money from us poor people!!!
Have a nice life, we will leave our money in some of the other…
Thank you for your comment. Please describe who you are referring to when you mention the word “CROOKS”. Did the casino rip you off?
If I was the Governor of Iowa I would shut D Joe’s down immediately. They are nothing but licensed thieves! They steal your money and offer nothing in return, not even a little time playing on your fav machines. How convenient that there is a casino 300 ft from a truck stop. How many truckers have lost a week or months worth of pay because they made the mistake of walking into that hell hole?
Casino’s are the worst thing that has ever become legal across this nation, no wonder our economy is in bad shape when so many people, usually the poor and uneducated, are getting drained of the finances at establishments like these. Its really quite sad that the leaders of this country can’t see this.
Did I read that right, DJos made $65,000 million last year, that is ridiculous!! What gives them the right to steal money like that from people who cant afford to lose it! No wonder you can’t win when you go in there. Where is all this money going?
There should be a law making casino’s more transparent about how much money they are making or stealing from people year in and year out. It should be posted on big signs as you enter there establishment. They’re also should be warning signs all over inside the casino showing how little the pay back is. Casino’s should be treated with the same respect as tobacco companies. They should NOT be allowed to mail stuff to the weak to entice them to come back week after week. And they should not be allowed to advertise on TV either unless they show at the end the obscene amount of money they make or steal from you and everyone else.
How many farms have been lost because of DJo’s? How many were debt free but now are morgaged? I understand how casino’s operate, people have to lose so they can pay their employee’s and all their other expenses but c’mon…do they really have to steal a million dollars a week from the commmunity. Thats too much and I for one will never ever walk back into the hell hole again.
Dave, those people who entered their doors didn’t have a gun in their back!! the same for drug dealers. If no one bought, there would not be any sellers!! We cause our own problems and want Government to regulate us. We have freedom, what we do with it should be chosen more wisely. At least with all the $$ they are hauling in, they are donating a lot of it big time to Northwood and surrounding areas.
@Annie-You are exactly correct. We very seldom go there but when we do we set a amount we are willing to part with and then we stop. We consider it recreation and do not really expect to win much. If we are there two hours and it cost us $20 or $40 it is not any more than it cost for dinner and a movie. No one forces those people to go there although I know people who have lost their homes and vehicles because the gambled all their money away. I don’t feel sorry for them and more than I feel sorry for someone who O.D.’s on drugs. It is called personal responsibility and accountability..
More people should follow your example in thinking Annie. You are exactly right. It all boils down to personal choices. This notion of government regulating everything is a sickness. Some would argue drugs and gambling make you a zombie, and I would argue letting the government run everything makes you the greater zombie. I won’t discuss drugs, because they mean different things to different people, but what do you call a woman or man staring at a slot machine sitting on a stool for 8 hours? I’d say that pretty much depicts a zombie…same goes for those who watch excessive TV. Yet people have the gall to say drug users are the zombies.
When I worked at the casinos in vegas after work I would spend hours playing and won more often than not but at diamond joes it took me 2 years before I won, 1500.00 and it has been 2 years since then and I’ve only been there once. From the reports that I have seen diamond joes has donated a lot of money to different schools and activities so they have done some good. Working at the casinos I know that the odds are in favor of the house so going there is a personal choice.
Since the sale of the diamond Jo to the Vegas mafia Boyd Gaming the diamond Jo at northwood has not been the same. There payout stinks they have lost there regular players and the crowds you used to see on the weekend are all gone. If you like to gamble do yourself a favor and go to another casino were you might have half a chance to win instead of no chance at all.
It’s entertainment, and nothing more. If you go there expecting to win you’ll be sorely disappointed. In Vegas you can win just enough to keep playing for a few hours. Don’t count on this at DJ’s. It’ll eat up your savings in a hurry. Their payout percentage is atrocious. They’d better expect their profits to tumble even more after the farming bubble bursts, which will be sooner rather than later.
I love to go to casinos, but Diamond Jo is no fun anymore. The last several times I have gone, it just takes my money. Doesn’t play along with me at all. I play the penny machines and usually bet anywhere from 50 cents to 90 cents a time. I don’t expect to win big, but do expect to take a little bit of money home once in a while. Do you suppose there are a lot of other people who feel the same way? Do you suppose this has something to do with revenue and admissions being down???? Why don’t the Diamond Jo managers understand this??? Oh well, I can drive to other casinos in Iowa and Minnesota if Diamond Jo doesn’t want my business.
Leaving the churches out of it, because that is each individuals level of faith and what they want to give they can give. Remember Yahweh is the truth and the light.
Banks have always been moneymakers…not just on the interest they charge but from the fees for ATMs and penaltys. The only way they get hurt is when an employee embezzles from them or they have idiot lenders who make very bad decisions.
The casinos on the other hand are nothing more than sucker palaces. Listen everybody you will never win at a casino. If you go enough times you will lose all your money…they are not in business to lose money. Common sense man believes the American Indians have found a way to get back at the white man….we took all their land and now they are going to take all our money.
Common Sense.
Unfortunately, we have people in this world that take advantage of those people who have great faith that attend church. A path to Heaven is not decided on by the amount of money given by an individual. Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert, Oral Roberts….. all men of God who swindled millions upon millions from those people with great faith.
There is a reason you never see a run down casino, a run down bank, nor a run down church. They are all 3 great at screwing you over and taking your money.
I have to agree with this one; churches less so. They are good for society; people need that hope.
Casinos, people should know the odds are against them. Ever seen the movie “Casino” ? It explains how you are ripped off.
Banks are the worst; the average person doesn’t know how badly the banks rob them. My personal goal is to have as few bank accounts/loans/mortgages/credit cards as possible, and I think most people should aspire to this. The greatest “casino” out there is the stock market.
Matt,
While I agree that church can be good for those people who go there for genuine and legitimate reasons, I still believe the church has become more of a business now than a place where people go to hear the word of God. The leader of the church is now more of a CEO than that of one who leads and teaches. I know of many people who choose to worship other ways than by going to church as they see the exact same thing. For those people who go for the right reasons and tithe for the right reasons, more power to them.
Banks are nothing less than an organized crime family for reasons already stated.
For those that enjoy going to a casino for entertainment and who can afford it, I have no problem with. Sometimes people can spend hours on $50-$100. I just choose to spend my money differently for my entertainment. For those people that go there to win the big one, all they are doing is throwing money into a furnace….and before you know it they can’t afford their mortgage on their house that they couldn’t afford from the bank who gave them a loan when they shouldn’t have.
@Ben-Churches have always been about the money so nothing has changed other than we are more aware of it now. Purgatory was created by the Catholic Church years ago because donations were down. Priest are celebrate because when they were married years ago and died the widows were demanding their property and it goes on and on. They put in these laws and then claim they came from God and the masses believe it. Religion is one of the most corrupt things around but they have made sure they are untouchable in our part of the world.
I used to live in vegas and would play all the time, 20.00 could last me hours but at Diamond Joes it would last 5 minutes. It took me a year and a half before I won anything, I won 1400 a year ago last march and haven’t been back since.
I finally quit going. The payout percentage has been steadily dropping since they opened. In Vegas the payout is around 98%. The last time I was at DJ it was only 90%. I refuse to be taken advantage of, especially when it mainly benefits another county.
We go there occasionally. Never win much if anything anymore. My wife used to win when the first opened but not anymore.
I used to go to the casino more often, but quit after never winning anything. I’ve been to casinos over by the river, and would never leave empty handed. I think since this is the only casino around for miles, they set their games with a very low chance to have any type of payout.
The buffet is really bad at DJ.
They never have good entertainment here and I rarely see any marketing advertisements for them. The Diamond Jo in Davenport has tons of great entertainers. What would it take to get those people to come up to Northwood for one more concert. Also, they cater to the people who would come there regardless… touring busloads of people over the age of 65 from Minnesota. Maybe they should be seeking out a little younger crowd from Iowa.
Anybody left there with burgerking change ?
$70 million dollars of inheritance money going up in smoke every year.