Brian Becker, proprietor of Hastings Exposition and Racing Co. in Nebraska, desires to maneuver his state-issued racing license to Ogallala, on the entrance to the state’s Panhandle, 320 miles west.
Nebraska’s business playing invoice, authorised by state voters in the course of the 2020 election, turns state-licensed racetrack amenities into Las Vegas-style casinos with slot machines, reside supplier desk video games and sports activities betting. authorised.
Hastings Exposition and Racing’s Fairplay Park was one among six tracks permitted to host a on line casino. Different tracks embody Horsemen’s Park in Omaha, Lincoln Racecourse, Agricultural Park in Columbus, Fonner Park in Grand Island, and the shuttered Atcad Downs in South Sioux Metropolis.
Becker initially partnered with the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, a rich tribe with sturdy experience in working on line casino video games. The partnership proposed a on line casino resort with a brand new racetrack on the north finish of Hastings.
After a gaggle of residents campaigned towards the plan, Hastings Metropolis Council rejected the event in March 2022 and agreed to rethink the choice in November. However Becker had already discovered a brand new gaming companion and a brand new host metropolis by way of Ogallala.
relocation plan
Becker on Tuesday introduced a brand new partnership with Iowa-based Elite On line casino Resorts, a serious Midwestern gaming operator. Hastings Racing and Elite wish to construct a on line casino resort with a racetrack in Ogallala.
The resort can be referred to as the Lake Mac On line casino Resort & Racetrack. Lake McConaughey State Recreation Space is a well-liked out of doors recreation space with its 30,000-acre park, white sandy seashores, crystal clear waters, and loads of tenting, boating, swimming, and looking alternatives.
The $100 million pitch will characteristic a on line casino ground with 650 slot machines, 20 reside supplier desk video games and a devoted poker site on 174 acres. The resort contains a 180-room resort, an occasion middle, quite a few eating choices, an RV park, swimming pools and spas.
Hastings Racing and Exposition spokesman Brian Jorde, who’s prone to see a rebrand if the transfer is authorised, mentioned the general plan is for a brand new racetrack in Ogallala and a second in Goering. He mentioned it was to create 1 / 4 horse racing circuit with a brand new racecourse. Someday sooner or later.
West Nebraska is at all times shutout,” Jorde mentioned. “Our plan is to launch this in Ogallala after which in Goering and have 1 / 4 horse circuit between the 2 areas.”
Becker mentioned Elite, like his Hastings Racing firm, is a pretty companion as a result of it is a decades-old gaming firm.
“It is the proper partnership to assist develop the quarterly horse racing trade,” Becker commented.
Authorization to maneuver
Elite On line casino Resorts has already secured one Nebraska on line casino challenge at Fonner Park on Grand Island in partnership with the Corridor County Livestock Breeding Affiliation. Elite is investing $100 million there to construct a 37,000-square-foot on line casino with about 650 slot machines and 20 tables.
For an elite challenge dubbed the Grand Island On line casino Resort, the corporate believes that positioning the Hastings Exposition on line casino additional west will allow each properties to succeed.
Jorde mentioned Hastings’ looking for state approval for the transfer to Ogallala “is sweet for everybody.”
State approval should be obtained from the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Fee. Jorde mentioned the group submitted its relocation plan to the state racing and gaming regulator on Tuesday. No schedule has been set for when the state will vote on the transfer.
(Tag Translation) Asia-Pacific Gaming
