Elite Casino Resorts is celebrating October with a statewide culinary promotion.
The Riverside-based gaming and hospitality company is partnering with the Iowa Pork Producers Association to celebrate Porktober, a monthlong showcase that features special pork dishes crafted by Elite chefs.
“Pork is part of Iowa’s heritage, and Porktober was our way of celebrating local flavors with dishes that are both creative and comforting,” said Dan Kehl, Elite Casino Resorts CEO.
Menu items include a pork roulade with dried cherries and goat cheese at Rhythm City Casino in Davenport; pork schnitzel topped with smoked ham and swiss cheese at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort in Riverside; and braised pork shank with potato cakes at Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort in Larchwood.
Kelsey Sutter, marketing and programs director for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, said the partnership helps highlight Iowa’s leadership in pork production.
“We thank you for joining our monthlong celebration of Iowa’s internationally recognized pork and the men and women who are dedicated to bringing it to our tables,” she said, in a release.
Elite to acquire Great River Entertainment
The promotion comes after a recent expansion announcement for the company. In August, Elite stated it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets and operations of Great River Entertainment LLC, including Catfish Bend Casino and FunCity Resort in Burlington.
The transaction will bring the Burlington property — and the company’s roots in Iowa’s original riverboat gaming scene — back under the ownership of the Kehl family, founders and majority owners of Elite Casino Resorts.
“This feels like coming home,” Mr. Kehl said, in a release. “Our family’s history with Burlington and Southeast Iowa goes back to the earliest days of Iowa gaming. Bringing Catfish Bend and FunCity back into the fold allows us to honor that past while building toward an exciting future of growth, investment and community partnerships.”
Mr. Kehl said the company plans a smooth transition for all team members, who would remain in their roles with opportunities for training and advancement. Elite also pledged to continue supporting tourism and economic development in Southeast Iowa.
“When Catfish Bend started in 1994, I moved my young family to Fort Madison to oversee riverboat operations. Now my sons are grown and part of the family business, and bringing this property back truly feels like a homecoming,” Mr. Kehl said, adding that previous owners Randy Winegard and Gary Hoyer had been “great leaders.”
“We look forward to maintaining and building on their legacy,” Mr. Kehl continued.
Catfish Bend and FunCity Resort feature 30,000 square feet of gaming space with more than 600 slot machines, 18 table games, a sportsbook and a poker room. The complex also includes 241 hotel rooms across three properties, a variety of dining and beverage outlets, meeting spaces, a water park, and family entertainment amenities such as bowling, go-karts and pickleball courts.
The acquisition will expand Elite Casino Resorts’ growing portfolio, which includes – in addition to its current Iowa properties – Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort in southern Illinois, Grand Island Casino Resort and Lake Mac Casino Resort & Racetrack in Nebraska.
