The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Fee (NRGC) final week voted unanimously to approve a switch request for a horse racetrack license from Hastings to a forthcoming facility in Ogallala.
Lake McConaughy in Nebraska will add a on line casino resort to its record of sights within the coming years. Nebraska gaming regulators not too long ago signed off on permitting the racing license held by Fairplay Park to relocate to Ogallala for a brand new racetrack and on line casino resort. (Picture: Getty)
Hastings Exposition and Racing, Inc. proprietor Brian Becker requested the NRGC to permit him to relocate his state-issued horse racing license from Fairplay Park to a brand new racetrack in Ogallala some 200 miles west.
Becker is partnered with Iowa-based Elite On line casino Resorts on a brand new quarter horse racetrack measuring 5/8 of a mile and on line casino resort close to Lake McConaughy. Dubbed Lake Mac On line casino Resort & Racetrack, the $100 million mission is focusing on a 178-acre close to Interstate 80 and Freeway 26.
In 2020, Nebraskans handed a statewide poll referendum that legalized business on line casino playing on the state’s six horse racetracks. The measure moreover legalized in-person sports activities betting.
Western Frontier
Although Hastings remains to be barely east of Nebraska’s heart, Fairplay Park has for many years been the westernmost horse racetrack of the six services. Understanding that the 2020 on line casino referendum might trigger gaming saturation issues, the initiative offered a one-time alternative for racetrack homeowners to relocate their racing license to a extra favorable market however on the situations that they assemble a brand new racetrack, conduct dwell racing, and acquire native authorities assist.
Becker initially partnered with the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma to construct and function a on line casino in Hastings. However after the Hastings Metropolis Council objected to the on line casino, Becker discovered a brand new companion in Elite.
Elite can be partnered with the Corridor County Livestock Enchancment Affiliation the place it’s underneath building of changing Fonner Park into an leisure vacation spot referred to as Grand Island On line casino Resort. A short lived on line casino has operated contained in the observe’s grandstand since December 2022. The everlasting resort is to open next year.
With Hastings only a 30-minute drive south of Fonner Park, Elite and Becker determined a extra worthwhile on line casino could possibly be realized in Ogallala. Lake McConaughy and its 30,000-acre state park is a well-liked summertime trip vacation spot.
Situated close to the Nebraska panhandle, Lake Mac On line casino Resort will probably be a lot freer of competitors.
We’re thrilled to deliver a first-class resort, develop out-of-state tourism, add jobs, and make investments $100 million into Ogallala and Western Nebraska,” stated Dan Kehl, CEO of Elite On line casino Resorts.
Of their 7-0 vote in approving Fairplay Park’s license switch from Hastings to Ogallala, NGRC commissioners expressed enthusiasm for increasing the state horse racing business west.
Fonner Park and Hastings had been our western frontier. We’re going to maneuver that a whole lot of miles to the west,” commented Dennis Lee, the chair of the NRGC. “Ogallala actually has a novel alternative to open racing and gaming to Western Nebraska.”
The tentative plan for Lake Mac features a 37,000-square-foot on line casino flooring with 650 slot machines, 14 dwell supplier desk video games, and a sportsbook. The vacation spot’s deliberate facilities embrace a lodge with 180 rooms, a conference heart, a number of meals and beverage choices, a rooftop restaurant, an RV lot, and an expansive truck cease and journey heart.
WarHorse Omaha Opening
Throughout their Friday assembly, the NRGC signed off on permitting WarHorse On line casino Omaha to open on August 6.
The forthcoming everlasting on line casino positioned at Horsemen’s Park is a partnership between the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protecting Affiliation and WarHorse Gaming, the latter being a subsidiary of the Ho-Chunk, Inc., the business enterprise arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Oklahoma.
WarHorse Omaha is about to open with 800 slots, 20 desk video games, and a sportsbook. An on-site restaurant and bar can be prepared for friends.
