Temporary Grand Island casino might be open in October
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Grand Island’s temporary casino might open as early as this fall, says Fonner Park Chief Executive Officer Chris Kotulak.
“I would expect a temporary casino facility to be in operation before the end of 2022 but probably not until closer to October,” he said.
It’s hard to predict which month the casino will open “because there are many variables that are out of our control,” Kotulak said.
Elite Casino Resorts of Iowa, Fonner Park’s gaming operator, will build the temporary casino on the Fonner Park campus.
In the temporary facility, people will be able to play blackjack, roulette and craps, in addition to slot machines. It will also include a small restaurant and bar area.
It “will look and feel like a casino, just a small one,” Kotulak said. “We don’t want to shortchange our guests with an inferior environment or experience.”
Nebraska voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing casinos at the state’s tracks in November 2020.
If Fonner isn’t offering casino gaming a year from now, that means “something dreadful has taken place,” Kotulak said.
“That means that the 70% of Nebraskans that voted for casino gaming did not get what they voted for,” he said.
If a temporary casino isn’t operating at Fonner Park in early 2023, it means that casino revenue hasn’t arrived for horsemen and horse players who’ve been expecting it. “And that would be disappointing for many people,” Kotulak said.
Construction on the permanent casino facility won’t begin until after this year’s Nebraska State Fair.
Having a casino will increase purses at Fonner Park because a percentage of the gross gaming revenue will be allocated toward purse money for horsemen.
The percentage is included in the agreement between Fonner and Elite Casino Resorts. “Every racetrack makes their own deal with the casino operator,” Kotulak said.
“I’m hopeful that in a year or two our purses will have doubled what they are today,” Kotulak said.
More revenue will go toward horse racing when the permanent casino opens. It’s expected to have more than 600 slot machines. The temporary structure will have close to 200.
The construction of the Grand Island Casino Resort at Fonner Park probably will have to work around two Nebraska State Fairs. It would be nice to have the permanent facility up and running in 2025, Kotulak said.
Baxter Construction of Des Moines, Iowa, will be the general contractor of both the temporary and permanent structures.
The temporary casino will be used for storage after the Grand Island Casino Resort at Fonner Park is built.
Fonner Park hopes to have its temporary casino in operation by the end of this year, and possibly before that.
