Harrah's Columbus Announces Launch Date, Nebraska's Initial Permanent Casino
Harrah's Columbus has received approval from the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission to launch their permanent casino in May.
Caesars Entertainment, the owner of the new venue, has spent close to $100 million creating a new one-mile horse racecourse and a gaming area measuring around 17,000 square feet with 400 slot machines and 11 live dealer table games. The casino will also include a Caesars Sportsbook, a pub called Brew Brothers, and a sports bar named Wishbones. A racebook with pari-mutuel wagering is opening, though live racing will start in August. To qualify for a gaming license from the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, the casino must be located where horse races are conducted.
An adjacent Marriott hotel is currently being completed and should open around the casino's opening date.
The passage of a ballot referendum in 2020 allowed for Las Vegas-style casino gambling at licensed horse racetracks in Nebraska. Platte County authorities selected Caesars as the best developer for their casino, which led to the company being granted the license.
Caesars operated a temporary casino at Platte County Agricultural Park (Ag Park) before closing it ahead of the permanent casino's opening. The company decided not to upgrade Ag Park but to build a new horse racing venue instead.
Harrah's Columbus will be the first permanent casino in Nebraska to open.
"This is a big deal," said Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission chair Dennis Lee on Friday.
The casino is set to replace a previous events center known as Wishbones, giving the sports bar its name.
"It was an entertainment venue for years," Columbus Mayor James Bulkey told the Omaha World-Herald. "People recognize that name."
Caesars has not finalized its opening plans yet, though they aim to start operations on May 13.
The company is still in the process of hiring staff, with many job vacancies posted on their website, including positions such as sportsbook staff, waiters, internal auditors, bartenders, slot technicians, slot attendants, hosts, cashier cage workers, security guards, and table game dealers.
Initially, Caesars planned to have a larger casino floor spanning 28,000 square feet, with 500 slots and 14 table games. However, the finalized plans for Harrah's Columbus are now smaller, consisting of only 17,000 square feet and 400 slots and 11 table games.
There are four other permanent casinos being built in the state. WarHorse Gaming (a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk, Inc., the commercial economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) is creating WarHorse-branded casino resorts in Omaha (at Horsemen's Park) and in Lincoln (at the Lincoln Race Course). Iowa-based Elite Casino Resorts is relocating Fonner Park's racing license to Ogallala for a venue called the Grand Island Casino Resort. A racetrack casino project for Hastings Park was abandoned last year, and WarHorse may later develop a project at Atokad Downs in South Sioux City.
Nebraska currently has one other casino location: Atokad Downs in South Sioux City.
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Source: www.casino.org
