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As a Central Iowa business drama, this one has it all. The proposal for Prairie Meadows South, a second casino in Greater Des Moines, brings together a simmering stew of unknown outsiders, familiar insiders, memories of previous “can’t-miss” experiments and the potent scent of easy money.

Peninsula Gaming LLC, which operates the Diamond Jo casinos in Dubuque and Northwood, as well as gambling facilities in Louisiana, met with little interest when it laid out its plans for the Polk County Board of Supervisors last week. However, the real key is what’s happening behind the scenes during meetings with Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino officials. The plan calls for Prairie Meadows South to operate as a satellite of the Altoona facility, negating the need for voter approval.

So far, Prairie Meadows hasn’t taken a public position on the idea, although one board member was tagged as “skeptical” in a news story.

Peninsula proposed a specific location, a 160-acre parcel just south of Des Moines International Airport, between Army Post Road and Iowa Highway 5. As is often the case when big things are happening, legendary developer Bill Knapp is in the middle of it all. Most of the ground at that site is owned by Knapp Properties Inc.

“We’ve had several inquiries on land from Peninsula, Gary Kirke and two or three others I can’t mention,” Knapp said last week. “We’re not the only ones.” He said other pieces of property also are being considered by would-be casino operators.

Local business star Kirke, whose Wild Rose Entertainment gambling operation is only one of the highlights on his resume, failed to sell Des Moines on the idea of a casino in 2004. But he has presented a new plan of his own to the Prairie Meadows board, and has his eye on a 100-acre parcel farther west on Highway 5. That land is owned by Knapp in partnership with FBL Financial Group Inc.

Jonathan Swain, chief operating officer of Peninsula, said his company has a list of 11 possible locations for Prairie Meadows South. He wouldn’t name the others, but said the Army Post Road site is the only one within the city of Des Moines.

“I’ve lived here all my life,” Kirke said, “and I can’t imagine 10 other locations for a casino. The southwest side is the only logical place,” counterbalancing Prairie Meadows off to the northeast.

Knapp and Kirke are native Iowans and self-made businessmen with success stories familiar to most Central Iowans. Peninsula, on the other hand, is headed by a Californian with a blue-ribbon financial pedigree.

Brent Stevens, who lives in Manhattan Beach, Calif., is the CEO of Peninsula. He’s also the head of capital markets for Jefferies & Co., a New York-based financial services company that offers investment advice, asset management and capital raising services to companies and individuals.

At Jefferies, Stevens has worked with its gaming group and in leveraged financing. Previously, he worked in the corporate finance department of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. and the audit department of KPMG Peat Marwick, where he received his CPA. He received an M.B.A. with a major in finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Southern California.

Standard and Poor’s recently assigned Peninsula a B+ corporate credit rating that “reflects Peninsula Gaming LLC’s small portfolio of second-tier assets and its high debt leverage. The increased cash flow diversity following the acquisition of the Amelia Belle Casino (in Louisiana) and the relatively good quality of the company’s Iowa assets somewhat temper these factors.”

Last week, Stevens assured the Polk County supervisors that the Peninsula plan carries “no risk” for the current stakeholders of Prairie Meadows – a group that includes Polk County and many nonprofit organizations that get a cut of the profits every year.

Kirke said his proposal has “a lot of differences” from Peninsula’s, but wouldn’t go into details. “The stakeholders would be taken care of; that’s similar,” he said. “Nothing can be done without that.”

Last week, Stevens heard comparisons to the early days of Prairie Meadows, when an attempt to run it purely as a horse racing track resulted in bankruptcy, and the recent financial woes of the Iowa Chops hockey team, which have resulted in a fight over money owed to the county.

But Stevens said Peninsula would bear the cost of constructing a $150 million entertainment facility. Under any scenario of results at Prairie Meadows South, he said, the current level of profit could not decrease.

Although some critics have called for the elimination of horse racing at Prairie Meadows, Peninsula’s plan would add a short quarter horse meet to the local agenda.

“Prairie Meadows has a mixed-breed meet over a lengthy period,” said Swain. “They’re drastically losing handle. Our proposal gives breeders the clarity of a long-term program.”

Swain and Stevens emphasized the benefits to the Iowa quarter horse industry, and contended that better Iowa horses will mean bigger fields and more interest among bettors.

Knapp, who has criticized the racing structure at Prairie Meadows, supported that approach. “I think maybe the two (tracks) could make the horse industry even better,” he said. “I’d like to see horse racing in Iowa be for Iowa horses, not see others come in and leave with 60 percent of the purse.”

But all of the jockeying for position will be a waste of time unless Peninsula or another group receives the blessing of the Prairie Meadows board and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

Other cities are standing in line for casino licenses, and a number of critics argue that the state has enough gambling already. Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie stated his opposition to a second casino here. Herbst Gaming Inc., operator of Terrible’s Lakeside Casino on Interstate 35 near Osceola, has declared bankruptcy.

Prairie Meadows South backers, however, point to a recent study that suggests Greater Des Moines has another $160 million in annual gambling revenues still to be tapped.

“Des Moines could easily handle another casino,” Kirke said, noting that three casinos operate in Council Bluffs and two in Dubuque, both border cities. Peninsula points to Dubuque as the prime example of how the company can pump up a city’s gambling market by adding facilities.

“In 2012, Warren County and a couple of others are coming up again (with potential referendums), and Story County could go right now,” Knapp said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt there’s going to be another casino in this area.”