State-sanctioned casino gambling arrived in Omaha Tuesday morning with a ribbon cutting and ceremonial first bets placed on slot machines.
About 200 people gathered outside the new WarHorse Casino at 63rd and Q streets for the cutting of a blue ribbon. Handling the scissors were Lance Morgan, CEO of WarHorse Gaming; Garald Wollesen, president of the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association; and Denny Lee, chairman of the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission.Â
"This is a long time coming for the horsemen," Wollesen said.Â
Supporters hailed the casino's arrival, coming four years after Nebraska voters authorized casino gambling.
Eugene DeCora, a member of the tribal council of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, said he was happy to have cooperation among Nebraska, the horsemen and the tribe.Â
"I think it's going to benefit both the state of Nebraska and the Winnebago Tribe in every way possible," DeCora said.
Wollesen and another tribe member, Aaron LaPointe, the CEO of Ho-Chunk Capital, cast the first bets. They each played slot machines called Mighty Cash Ultra 88.Â
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For decades, opponents had successfully stamped out efforts to legalize gaming in the state.
Despite opposition from former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and then-Gov. Pete Ricketts, voters in 2020 approved by wide margins a trio of ballot initiatives allowing casino gambling at six licensed horse racetracks across the state and devoting most of the proceeds to property tax relief.
Omaha-area residents now have a local alternative to the Iowa casinos in Council Bluffs. Supporters had pitched the ballot measures as a way of keeping the gambling dollars in the state.
The 58,000-square-foot casino that's adjacent to the Horsemen's Park racetrack opens with 800 slots, 19 live table games and 100 simulcast screens.
The state imposes a 20% annual tax on gross gaming revenue from games of chance operated at licensed racetrack locations. Seventy percent of the tax revenue goes to the state’s Property Tax Credit Cash Fund. Twenty-five percent goes to the county where the racetrack is located, and if the racetrack is located partially within a city or a village, the county and city or village split it. The remaining 5% is split between the state’s general fund and the Compulsive Gamblers Assistance Fund.
Morgan has said he projects that initially the city of Omaha and Douglas County will split about $6 million a year in gaming tax revenue from the casino.
He said that revenue from the Omaha casino, and a sister WarHorse Casino set to open fully in Lincoln this fall, will be an economic driver to improve the lives of tribal members.
A second phase of construction at WarHorse Omaha is expected to open next spring, with more than 400 additional gaming positions, a smoking area and additional dining options.
The Lincoln operation, which was the first racetrack casino to open in the state on a temporary basis, is expected to complete its expansion sometime in November.