Harrah's opens temporary casino in Nebraska, Warhorse Lincoln prepares sports betting
Harrah’s Nebraska will open Monday at 9 a.m. local time at Platte County Agricultural Park, commonly known as “Ag Park.”
Caesars Entertainment's temporary casino features about 200 slot machines and live broadcasts of horse racing pari-mutuel betting.
In May, the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission (NRGC) found that Caesars and its local investors were eligible for a Nebraska license. The NRGC approved the opening of the temporary ride today following a final inspection on Sunday.
Harrah's Nebraska temporary casino is located in the stands at Ag Park. This facility is open 7 days a week from 9:00am to 1:00am
The temporary casino will operate while Caesars builds a $75 million permanent resort called Harrah's Columbus, NE Racing & Casino on Highway 81 northwest of the city. The 40,000-square-foot casino is expected to feature about 500 slot machines, 14 live dealer tables, a Caesars sportsbook and a mile-long horse racing track. A hotel is also planned for the site.
Exhibition Attraction
Ag Park, like many racetracks in the United States, has seen a significant decline in interest in horse racing over the past few decades. Ag Park only has 11 days of in-person games scheduled this year.
In recent years, the facility has increasingly focused on hosting special events and concerts, with the Platte County Fair highlighted on the annual calendar. Platte County officials said the fair will still be held at Ag Park. This year, the 160th Platte County Fair will be held July 19-23.
The highlight of the fair is the annual Platte County Queen Contest. High school girls will compete for a $1,000 scholarship and the honor of representing the county in events throughout the year.
Warhorse Lincoln Sportsbook
Harrah's Nebraska is one of five casinos being built in the Cornhusker State. In 2020, voters approved a referendum to amend the state constitution to allow Las Vegas-style commercial gambling at the state's licensed racetracks.
Casino racetracks are required by law to continue hosting live horse racing, so Caesars is building a new racetrack at its permanent resort. Harrah's Nebraska is the third casino to open temporarily, following WarHorse Casino Lincoln, which opened in September 2022, and Grand Island Casino in Fonner's Park, which opened in late December.
Officials with WarHorse Gaming, a company controlled by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and the tribe's economic development arm, Ho-Chunk Inc., are finalizing plans to open a temporary on-site casino sportsbook.
Lynne McNally, CEO of the Nebraska Knights Benevolent and Protective Association, a partner in WarHorse Gaming, announced the hiring of Jason Johnston to lead WarHorse’s sports betting operations. Johnston was a former manager at BetMGM.
Kambi Group will provide turnkey retail sports betting services to WarHorse. Nebraska commercial gambling referendum allows only in-person sports betting.
WarHorse Gaming is building a casino in Omaha with Lincoln. The Winnebago Tribe's partnership with the Knights Benevolent and Protective Society also includes the possibility of building a casino at the closed Atokad Downs in South Sioux City. WarHorse is initially focused on the Lincoln and Omaha projects, which are expected to cost more than $300 million to build.
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Source: www.casino.org
