It’s going to be a big month for casino fans in the state of Nebraska.. Approval has been given for the new WarHorse Casino to open in Omaha on August 6. Unanimous support was received from the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, though some final compliance checks will be required.
This $250 million new casino will offer 24/7 service to its customers. The approval is excellent news not just for the state’s gaming industry but the Winnebago tribe.
The Chief Executive Officer of WarHorse is Lance Morgan. Speaking about the decision that has been made, he said that it is “a pretty seminal moment” for Nebraska’s gaming industry. Morgan, who is also the CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc, who have helped develop the venue, added that “in some ways, I’ve been working on this for about 30 years.”
It’s a landmark moment indeed because the WarHorse Casino is the first state-sanctioned casino in Omaha. In 2020, state voter approval of gaming linked to racetracks was received. The upcoming opening of this new casino has also been called “historic” by Commission Chairman Denny Lee.
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Since September 2022, WarHorse Omaha has had a temporary casino inside Horsemen’s Park.
Those who visit the new casino will rarely have a dull moment, if at all. The venue has 925 gaming positions (including 800 slot machines), a wide selection of table games, and the Sweetwater Cafe.
This is only the first phase though with more to come next spring. When that is completed, there will be additional dining options and a smoking area. There will also be a skywalk taking customers from the parking garage to the casino and in total there’ll be 1200 slot machines and 20 gaming tables.
The casino industry is an ever expanding one. The opening of the WarHorse Casino in Omaha is part of the expansion plans that the state of Nebraska has. A second “racino” will open in addition to the current Harrah’s Columbus, which opened in May.
That 28,000 square-foot casino has been delighting its customers with its 500 slot machines and 14 table games. It also offers a sportsbook (run by Caesars), a brewpub and Wishbones bar. A new one-mile racetrack also opened at the same time.
November 1 is the scheduled opening date for another WarHorse Casino, this time in Lincoln. The first quarter of 2025 is expected to see the Grand Island Casino Resort launched.
Despite this, the new casino is seen as being important for the horse racing industry in Nebraska. The CEO of the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association is Lynne McNally.
Speaking about the development, McNally commented that the industry had been looking forward to such developments for the past three decades. That follows the closure of the Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack in Omaha.
The Commission has also given approval to a license transfer that will see another casino and racetrack project. This one is scheduled to open in Ogallala, Nebraska which is a collaboration between Racing and Elite Casino Resorts and Hastings Exposition.
This will include a racetrack, casino, event center, RV Park, hotel, and travel center on a 174-acre site. It’s expected that this will greatly boost both the horse racing and tourism industries in western Nebraska.
Although a US Supreme Court Judge ruling allowed individual states to decide whether or not ti to make sports betting legal, Nebraska has only done this for the in-person retail industry. Attempts continue though to make online sports betting legal.
The 2018 ruling came after a long campaign that was led by the state of New Jersey. At the same time, Nebraska has taken time to change its laws, but that has not been the case for over 30 US states. New Jersey was among the first to make sports betting legal, just behind Delaware.
It’s proved a very profitable decision for New Jersey with huge revenues being earned by the gambling operators who now legally operate in the state. Not just has this helped those companies but the state of New Jersey too. The first six months of this year has seen the state receive $331.3 million in gambling tax revenue, as per NJ.bet, an online gambling comparison site for New Jersey players.
It’s no surprise therefore that Nebraska is looking at passing legislation that would see gaming operators offer sports betting online. Gov Jim Pillen has given his support to legalizing online sports betting. He said that it does happen in the state with residents using sites from outside of the state. Rather frustratingly he said: “we’re giving all the revenue to our neighbors.” That’s likely to change in the future.
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