Published July 20, 2025 | Updated July 14, 2026

I’m not much for casinos, but I do enjoy an outdoor concert when I get a chance. For me, that usually means Stir Concert Cove in Council Bluffs. Having said that, The Astro in La Vista is on my list as a place to check out. I’ve probably gone to a dozen shows at Stir, which got me thinking about its history as well as the casino, hotel, and riverboat.

Opened by Harvey’s, the adjacent casino opened in 1996, pre-dating the amphitheater by nearly 10 years. The use of the Kanseville Queen, a three-story riverboat was to get around Iowa state law that prevented casinos on land. It was acquired by Harrah’s in 2001 and six years later, the state law changed to allow onshore. That opened the door to scrap the riverboat whose maintenance costs continue to grow by 2013.

Owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment, the casino continues to operate as Harrah’s, which recently completed an expansion of the gaming floor and a renovation of the hotel. The current facility has a 25,000 square-foot casino floor with more than 700 slot machines, 70 table games, and three self-serve sports betting kiosks. It is also home to 360 Steakhouse, rated as one of OpenTable’s Top 100 Scenic Restaurants in America, Guy Fieri’s Kitchen + Bar, and Tag Lounge and Bar.

Back to the riverboat. It was built in 1995 and opened on New Year’s Day 1996. Harrah’s sold it in 2013, at which point it was purchased by the American Queen Steamboat Company and made its way to New Orleans, where it was cut in half and extended to increase capacity. Redesigned as a class paddlewheeler and renamed the American Countess, it sailed on the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers starting in 2021. After American Queen Voyages ceased operations in 2024, the boat was purchased by American Cruise Lines, which scrapped it later that year.

My favorite attraction, Stir Concert Cove, was founded in 2005 and has a capacity of 4,000, most of which is general admission seating where you can bring or rent a chair, lay down a blanket, stand, or purchase upgraded seating on its deck or patio. It was ranked 68th on Pollstar Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Amphitheaters in the World.

Celebrating its 20th birthday, Stir hosts a popular summer concert series that this year includes Weezer, Darius Rucker, Old Dominion, and Simple Plan. Over the years, it has hosted shows by Teddy Swims, The Beach Boys, Ice Cube, Willie Nelson, Fitz and the Tantrums, Indigo Girls, Snoop Dogg, The Black Crowes, and many others.

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More pictures

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• Harrah’s Council Bluffs – Wikipedia
• https://smallshipadventurecruises.com/ships/american-duchess/