Ogallala joins with Fonner Park in bid for western Nebraska casino
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If the Nebraska Legislature ever decides to allow casinos at new horse racing tracks, Ogallala is ready.
The Ogallala City Council and Keith County Board of Commissioners earlier this week approved plans for a $100 million project that would be built by the same gaming company that's building a casino at Fonner Park in Grand Island.
It’s the second “racino” proposal both boards have received since Nebraska voters authorized horsetrack-casino combinations in November 2020. The City Council and County Board in December likewise endorsed a 174-acre project at Ogallala’s Interstate 80 exit, backed by Minnesota-based Canterbury Park.
Elite Casino Resorts says the proposed project, which would be called Lake Mac Casino Resort & Racetrack, would have a casino with 650 slot machines, 20 table games, six poker tables, a sportsbook and a show lounge that would provide local and regional entertainment on the weekend.
It also would include a racetrack with a 5/8-mile oval, a 120-room hotel, 10,000 square feet of convention and event space, an RV park and a "high-end" truck stop.
The proposed project is similar in size and scope to one Elite plans to build at the Grand Island track. A map included with Tuesday’s City Council agenda says it would go in the same southwest quadrant of the I-80 interchange in which the Canterbury Park group proposes to build.
“We are excited about this partnership. This project will be a catalyst to help additional economic development in our community," Jeremy Smith, president of local nonprofit LMRC Inc., said in a news release. "We feel we have the full package with our location, the quality of the project to be developed, and the experience in gaming and racetracks with our partners."
Those partners include both Elite and Fonner Park, as well as casino developer Kehl Management.
Whether either the Fonner or Canterbury Park groups can build a casino in Ogallala is up in the air, however.
Voters approved an initiative that allows casino gambling only at authorized horse racing tracks, and the Legislature earlier this year passed a bill that puts a moratorium on developing casinos outside of the six existing tracks until a market study can be performed, something that must happen no later than Jan. 1, 2025.
All six existing tracks have announced plans for casinos, but only three -- Fonner Park, Lincoln Race Course and Horsemen's Park in Omaha -- have so far submitted applications to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission.
In addition to Ogallala, five communities -- Bellevue, York, Norfolk, North Platte, Gering and Kimball -- have expressed interest in building new racetracks with casinos. Canterbury Park also is involved with the Kimball proposal.
Operators of the existing tracks, including Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak, have questioned whether the state can support more than six casinos.
Kotulak could not be reached Thursday afternoon on the decision to partner on a potential Ogallala casino.
