WATERLOO -- Good news for people who just can't wait to gamble at the new casino going up south of town: The Isle casino and hotel will open a day ahead of schedule, on June 30.

Don Hoth, chairman of the Black Hawk County Gaming Association, made the announcement to the association at its meeting Tuesday. He said he just found out earlier in the day.

"To me, this is just great," Hoth said. "It's been almost six years … The dream becomes a reality."

The doors to The Isle will open to the public at 7 p.m., Hoth said. There will be an invitation-only grand opening ceremony two hours earlier, at 5 p.m., but Hoth encouraged those people to get there early because parking, and traffic, could be a problem. If past casino openings are any indication, people could start showing up as much as six hours before the public opening, he said.

Hoth didn't say why the casino was opening a day early. It had been scheduled to open on July 1, a Sunday. The new date has it opening on Saturday night.

Hoth didn't have details of the grand opening, but said there will be some unnamed celebrities on hand -- not so much to perform as to mingle with the crowd.

With the opening of the casino less than a month away, the gaming association tried to tackle some of its own housekeeping issues -- namely, hiring an executive director and finding office space.

Hoth said the gaming association had been eyeing a move-in date for a new office by early August. "Here we are, it's June 5, and we've got to get on the fast track with this."

The association had been eyeing a salary in the $50,000 range for an executive director, but hasn't settled on that yet. Nor have they settled on a compensation package for the position. Providing health insurance and 401k for just one person is "real cumbersome," association member Susan Juon said.

"The details of how we get that done need to be figured out pretty quickly. We can't just offer them something, we have to deliver," association member and Evansdale mayor John Mardis said. "At some point, we have to match the total compensation package with what we have to spend."

"We want to be competitive, which means we don't go too low, but we don't go too high," said board member Sharon Juon.

Hoth said he has received 50 applications and requests for information about the executive director position. The association voted to task its executive committee with reviewing the applicants.

When they hire an executive director, that person's office will be in the INRCOG building downtown. Hoth said he visited seven sites for potential offices, but that the INRCOG site -- with its board room (where the association has been meeting), furnished offices and secretarial help -- was the best.

The association voted unanimously to accept a two-year lease agreement with INRCOG.

Contact Jeff Wilford at (319) 291-1423 or jeff.wilford@wcfcourier.com.