{"id":150,"date":"2017-11-14T06:19:05","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T12:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crestwoodpublishing.com\/?page_id=150"},"modified":"2026-02-04T21:21:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T03:21:42","slug":"coming-soon-biggest-gamble-on-the-mississippi-the-story-of-robert-and-ruth-kehl-family","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/crestwoodpublishing.com\/?page_id=150","title":{"rendered":"Biggest Gamble on the Mississippi: The Story of Robert and Ruth Kehl Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Brian E. Cooper
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2017\u00a0 Kehl Family Foundation, an Iowa non-profit organization<\/strong><\/p>\n

240 pages. 8.5 x 11″ Hardcover with dust jacket. 220+ color and back-and-white photos<\/strong><\/p>\n

ISBN 978-0-9885716-2-4<\/strong><\/p>\n

Foreword by Terry E. Branstad, former Iowa governor and former U.S. ambassador to China<\/strong><\/p>\n

$29.95, plus tax and shipping. Complete the form below to order<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Long before they secured the first riverboat casino license issued in the United States, Robert and Ruth Kehl were gamblers. Time after time, the Iowa natives placed substantial bets \u2500 going \u201call in\u201d \u2500 on themselves.<\/p>\n

Bob and Ruth repeatedly used their entrepreneurial spirit, legendary work ethic and self-confidence to parlay their success into the next opportunity \u2500 several times putting all they owned into the venture.<\/p>\n

They advanced from operators of a small diner in Dubuque to operators of a single excursion boat to owners of a fleet of vessels to riverboat casino operators to riverboat brokers engaged in multi-million-dollar deals.<\/p>\n

Their gambles were often linked to the Mississippi River \u2500 riverboats and river communities.<\/p>\n

Their path to success passed through the Oval Office, where in 1986 President Reagan personally congratulated them on their selection as National Small Business Owners of the Year.<\/p>\n

The national honor was a pinnacle achievement for Bob, who as a boy lived in a farmhouse lacking electricity and running water, and Ruth, who grew up on a small farm in Southern Iowa. But greater success was yet to come. When riverboat casinos won approval in Iowa, the first license issued in the country went to the Kehls.<\/p>\n

As their financial fortunes grew, Bob and Ruth took care to give back to the communities in which they operated \u2013 in most cases, they were river communities. It\u2019s a tradition of generosity that continues today with their next generation.<\/p>\n

Biggest Gamble on the Mississippi<\/em> is a tale of triumph tempered by tragedy. It\u2019s a story of rags to riches. It\u2019s a story of Bob and Ruth Kehl and their family, who repeatedly bet on themselves \u2013 and won.<\/p>\n

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