Bernard Goldstein
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Following a successful 40-year career in scrap metal recycling, river freight transportation and affiliated businesses as leader of the Alter Companies, Bernard “Bernie” Goldstein tested retirement in Florida before using his entrepreneurial spirit to start a second career.
Often referred to in the gaming industry as the Father of Riverboat Gaming, Bernard Goldstein was instrumental in lobbying for the original legislation for riverboat gaming in Iowa and opened the nations’ first riverboat casino the M/V Diamond Lady that sailed from Bettendorf, Iowa at 7 a.m. on April 1, 1991.
Bernie opened the first riverboat casino in the South in Biloxi, Mississippi on August 1, 1992 owned and operated by a newly create public company now known as Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. Named after a small island off the Mississippi Coast known during Prohibition years as the place for locals and tourists alike to visit, Isle of Capri Casinos rapidly grew to become one of the largest regional gaming operators in the United States. Bernie now serves as chairman of the board for Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. and served as chief executive officer until 2008.
Prior to his leadership role with Isle of Capri Casinos, Bernie Goldstein was chairman of the board of the Steamboat Companies which operated casino riverboats in Iowa. He also served as chairman of the board and president of Casino Cruises, Inc., which opened and managed the gaming operations of the Par-A-Dice Riverboat Casino in Peoria, Illinois through March 1993.
In addition to his interests in the gaming industry, Bernie Goldstein serves as chairman of the board of Goldstein Group, Inc. Affiliated Goldstein Companies include Alter Barge Line, Inc., Alter Trading, Inc., River/Gulf Grain Company and Green Bridge Company. The author of "Navigating the Century," published by the History Factory (1998), he is a graduate of the University of Illinois and was admitted to the Iowa Bar Association in 1951.
Bernie Goldstein’s community spirit has earned recognition from various organizations. He twice received the Simon Wiesenthal Distinguished Community Award. In 1993, he was selected Outstanding Business Leader by the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, Florida. In 1995, Passenger Vessel Association presented him the Compass Award and in 1999, he was inducted into the National Rivers Hall of Fame. He was also honored with the 1999 Louisiana Ernst & Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year and the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2004 by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Law. In 2007, the Goldstein Family Foundation honored Bernie with by establishing a scholarship fund at the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. And in 2008, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.