Elite Casino Resorts, Owner of Riverside, Acquiring Catfish Bend and FunCity Resort
Posted on: August 27, 2025, 07:48h.
Last updated on: August 27, 2025, 10:09h.
- Elite Casino Resorts is buying Catfish Bend Casino and FunCity
- The Iowa gaming company recently folded on a lawsuit challenging a casino in Cedar Rapids
- Elite already owns and operates three casinos in Iowa
Elite Casino Resorts, headquartered in Iowa’s Riverside, where it owns and operates the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort, is expanding its footprint in the Hawkeye State with the acquisition of Catfish Bend Casino and FunCity Resort in Burlington.
Pending regulatory approvals, including from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC), the purchase will mark Elite’s return to Iowa’s southeast.
Controlled by the Kehl family, the Catfish Bend and FunCity acquisition is a full-circle moment for the Iowa gaming pioneers, as the family opened the original riverboat in Burlington in the early 1990s before selling the gaming and family-fun destination to businessman Randy Winegard in 2006. Catfish Bend became a land-based casino the following year.
This feels like coming home,” said Dan Kehl, CEO of Elite Casino Resorts. “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.”
Catfish Bend is a 30K-square-foot casino with 600 slot machines, 18 live-dealer table games, a sportsbook, a poker room, and a high-limit area.
The Catfish Bend and FunCity websites seemed to be hacked as of this morning.
Resort Details
Catfish Bend is located adjacent to FunCity Resort, which includes 241 hotel rooms across three brands — FunCity Hotel, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Catfish Bend Inn & Suites (adults-only).
The destination has 14 dining and beverage outlets, a seasonal outdoor water park, meeting space, a full-service spa and fitness center, a bowling alley, an indoor go-kart track, laser tag, and an arcade.
Terms of the acquisition weren’t made public. Both Elite and Winegard’s Great River Entertainment are privately owned.
“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,” Kehl added.
Purchase Follows Cedar Rapids Loss
Elite Casino Resort’s investment in Southeast Iowa comes after Kehl failed to prevent a casino from coming to Cedar Rapids.
Last month, Riverside folded on its lawsuit challenging the legality of a 2021 local referendum in Linn County that authorized a commercial casino resort in Cedar Rapids, which is about 35 miles north of Riverside. Construction is underway in Iowa’s second most populous city, a $275 million development called Cedar Crossing Casino & Entertainment Center.
Casino.org has heard from many Riverside patrons who believe Elite’s lawsuit was primarily designed to fend off new competition. Some said they would welcome a new gaming facility, and voiced opinions that the Riverside complex is in need of a refresh.
With its monopoly on the Cedar Rapids market soon gone, Elite is strengthening its hold on Southeast Iowa with Catfish Bend. If the deal goes through, Catfish will mark Elite’s fourth casino in Iowa, along with Riverside, Rhythm City Casino Resort in Davenport, and Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort in Larchwood.
Elite additionally owns Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort in Carterville, Ill., and Grand Island Casino Resort at Fonner Park in Grand Island, Neb.
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