The construction of the new casino in Omaha set to take place this spring, report
Omaha, Nebraska – The construction of the long-awaited casino in Omaha is set to take place this spring, officials with the company behind the project say.
The whole process with the casino project is slow, but the investors believe the project will finally break ground in the next few months.
“It’s going to be a massive undertaking, there will be a hotel in Lincoln, the facility in Omaha will look much different than it looks now but I think Nebraskans will be very, very thrilled with the end result, and we can’t wait for them to open,” says Lynne McNally with Nebraska Horsemen’s.
However, the process is slower than expected because the company is yet to acquire the gambling licenses. Before the start of the project, the company has to meet number of regulations and gambling rules.
Those rules passed their first hurdle in December: They were written and approved by the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission.
“Those rules are then sent to the Attorney General’s office and they’re currently in the Attorney General’s office, and we expect to see some feedback or response from the AG office in the next couple of weeks,” says Tom Sage, the director of the Racing and Gaming Commission.
According to the current rules, those rules and regulations should be initially approved by the attorney general, and then, headed to the governor for approval.
After approval from Ricketts, the rules head to their final destination: the Secretary of State’s office. After five days there, they take effect.
“I really think our rules are very good, they were supported by a number of anti-gaming groups,” says Sage. “So, I have really good feelings that we’ll get a good outcome throughout the process.”
As per multiple reports, the Racing and Gaming Commission has received applications for new tracks and casinos in Bellevue, Gering, North Platte, York, and Norfolk. However, the applications can’t be approved until all the regulations are into effect.
“It always takes longer than you think it should, but we have to keep in mind this is creating an entirely new industry in the state of Nebraska,” says McNally.
“I know the citizens and the people of Nebraska are frustrated, I hear it every day, ‘when are we going to get a casino? No, we’re not going to get them, people are going to stop them,’ so on and so forth,” says Sage. “I would tell the citizens of the state and people that voted: it’s coming. I know it’s slow, it’s really quite a process that we have to go through.”
Once more details about the construction of the Omaha casisno are available, we will update the story.
