The nation's largest casino operator on Thursday gave an update on its plans for its first Nebraska property set to open next year in Columbus.
Caesars Entertainment plans a 28,000-square-foot Harrah's casino and sportsbook with more than 500 slot machines and 14 table games along U.S. 81 on the northwest side of the city.
That's a smaller footprint than what was originally announced in 2021, and it includes more slot machines and fewer table games than originally planned.
The property also will host a Brew Brothers restaurant and a bar called Wishbones, a nod to the Columbus event center that closed and was demolished on the property where the casino is being built. Two Marriott hotels, a Fairfield Inn and TownePlace Suites, will be built adjacent to the casino.
“We’re pleased to bring a brand-new destination to the great state of Nebraska,†Todd Connelly, regional president at Caesars Entertainment, said in a news release.
Connelly said the casino is scheduled to open sometime in the first half of next year, along with a new 1-mile horse track, which will be the longest in Nebraska.
Voters in the state approved casino gambling at the state's six licensed horse tracks in 2020. Nearly two years later, the first temporary casinos opened in Lincoln in September and Grand Island in December.
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WarHorse Gaming is building casinos in Lincoln and Omaha in conjunction with the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which operates the tracks in both cities. In Lincoln, construction is expected to take 18 months.
At Fonner Park, Elite Casinos Resorts is putting up the Grand Island Casino Resort. Construction there isn't set to begin until after this summer's Nebraska State Fair wraps up.
It's possible that the Columbus casino could be the first of the state's permanent casino reports to open. While construction takes place, Caesars is planning a temporary Harrah's casino with more than 200 slot machines at the existing Ag Park in Columbus.
The temporary casino is expected to open sometime this spring.
Caesars Entertainment plans to build a 28,000-square-foot Harrah's casino and sportsbook with more than 500 slot machines and 14 table games in Columbus.