DES MOINES -- Residents in the rural Iowa communities of Northwood and Emmetsburg are pinning their economic hopes on the opening of new casinos later this year and the hundreds new jobs they will bring.

In total, nearly 4,000 job-seekers have shown up for a limited number of jobs at the soon-to-open casinos in Worth County near Northwood and in Emmetsburg in Palo Alto County.

Casino backers hope the years they have spent working to lure a casino is about to pay off economically.

Wes Ehrecke of the Iowa Gaming Association said the investment in the four new casinos set to open, which also includes those in Waterloo and Riverside, totals about $600 million.

Waterloo's casino, near Lost Island Adventurepark south of Crossroads Center, has an April 2007 opening date. Site work has begun.

With a $100 million estimated price tag, not including a $20 million license fee paid to the state coffers, Isle of Capri's Waterloo is the costliest and biggest of the four casinos under construction.

Once opened, the casino/hotel is expected to employ 800 people at an average salary of $26,270, a $21 million annual payroll, according to the IOC's gaming license application. The project also is expected to generate more than $4.7 million annually in city, county and school taxes, including property tax, sales tax and hotel-motel taxes.

Capital investment in the expansions of casinos that already have been open equaled close to $310 million, he said.

"That's new construction jobs. That's pumping a lot into those various economies," Ehrecke said.

Statewide, the economic impact of Iowa's casino industry hit $879 million last year, a number that is set to grow when all four new casinos are operating.

Contact Charlotte Ebyat (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.