The Wild Rose Casino & Resort in Jefferson, Iowa did a low key soft launch on the 13th of July as it invited the public into its $40 million dollar facility that is situated about 65 miles north west of Des Moines.

The casino facility which is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 30 and Iowa Highway 4 is yet to be completed fully as the events center and the restaurant are in the process of being completed. The casino owners preferred to do a soft launch to test the initial reaction and they were happy with the response and close to 550 people turned up at the Jefferson casino to play the slot machines and have fun at the casino tables.

The casino floor is spread across 18,000 square feet which hosts five hundred and thirty six slot machines and 14 casino tables that offer a number of popular casino games including blackjack. The casino is expected to complete an official launch on August 1st with Grand Opening celebrations between the 7th and the 9th. The Jefferson casino owners are also constructing a $5 million Cobblestone Hotel & Suites adjacent to the casino and will feature total of 73 rooms.

The entire project is expected to bring in a lot of revenue to the local community which is estimated to be a little over 9,000 individuals. The casino project is expected to create over 250 permanent jobs and bring in over $7 million in annual revenue which will provide a huge boost to Jefferson. The casino plans to conduct a job fair in the local community in the near future and those residents who are interested in working at the casino, can attend the job fair or send in their resume online.

Chuck Offenburger, a columnist who used to work with the Des Moines Register said “This is a real turn-around time for Jefferson and Greene County. This is a county where the population has not grown in 115 years. While the ag business is terrific around here, we have lacked for facilities to encourage tourism. Specifically, we have lacked a nice hotel and conference center. With the Wild Rose Casino & Resort, we are getting all of that in one project.”

Once the official launch of the casino is completed, it will operate 24 hours during weekends and between 8 am to 2 pm during weekdays. For now the hours are 8am until midnight.