GI Casino opens at temporary site

Casino-style gambling is now just minutes away from Hamilton County after last week’s debut of the Grand Island Casino and Resort.
Twenty months after Nebraska voters approved a ballot initiative allowing casino-style gaming at existing horse racing facilities, Grand Island opened a temporary casino facility at Fonner Park, with plans to begin construction on a full-scale Las Vegas-inspired casino and attached hotel in September. In the meantime, it was game on as of noon Dec. 27, when hundreds of gamblers and curious local citizens ventured to the Fonner Park concourse to check out the area’s newest entertainment venue.
“Today represents the culmination of a lot of effort and dedication,” said Dist. 41 Sen. Tom Briese, one of several people to speak at a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It represents jobs for the community. It represents property tax relief and it will supplement the horse racing industry here in Nebraska.”
The temporary casino has more than 100 employees and features approximately 300 slot machines, horse betting kiosks and a snack bar. Chief Industries built the facility with a rushed deadline of just over 70 working days.
“We’ve waited a long time for this,” noted Dist. 35 Sen. Ray Aguilar. “It will be a fun experience and hopefully you’ll take a little home with you. That’s what we’re here for, right.”
Dan Kehl, CEO of Elite Casino Resorts, said he is excited about the new partnership with Fonner Park, which held its first horse race on the grounds almost 70 years ago. Grand Island Casino and Resort is under the umbrella of the Iowa-based company, which owns and operates three casinos in Iowa in addition to Elite Sportsbook, which has retail and online operations in Iowa and Colorado.
“It’s very fitting that our temporary casino surrounds the Racing Hall of Fame, starting a new chapter in Fonner history,” Kehl said. “I thank the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission for their leadership and diligence in the process of approval of our application and look forward to a long future between Elite Casino Resorts, Fonner Park and Grand Island.”
Trent Loos, a Nebraska rancher and new member of the racing and gaming commission, offered his perspective on the new gaming venture.
“What happened here in Nebraska is a resolve to find a way to create property tax relief, and that is what we need,” he said. “I happen to be a sixth generation United States farmer, with a ranch in Sherman County, and so it was quite easy for me to understand the gaming and gambling part of it because my family’s been gambling for six (generations) in agriculture. That’s what this is all about, one step in providing a solution.”
Phase 2 plans
Construction on the site is essentially completed now, as Phase 2 will have to wait until after the 2023 Nebraska State Fair. At that point, crews will begin building a 24-hour resort, which will feature 650 slot machines, 20 table games, a sports book, as well as a variety of dining options, including top-floor dining at Ruthie’s Steak & Seafood. The project will also include a 116-room boutique hotel, salon and spa, gift shop and an indoor/outdoor pool, all to be built on the north end of the temporary facilities.
“I also want to congratulate the Kehl’s for what they are doing and wish them a long, prosperous stay here,” Aguilar added. “The more money they make the more money we get in tax relief and that’s what this is all about.”
“Economically, this is going to have a large impact on not only Grand Island and Hall County, but also the state of Nebraska,” noted Dist. 34 Sen.-elect Loren Lippincott. “We’re going to see 500-plus people who will be employed here in this complex, which is going to include a hotel with a four-star restaurant on top which will be billed as the finest restaurant in this area. That’s exciting amenities for families in this area, so we’re very excited about that.”

$90,000 a day projected
Asked to speculate on how much revenue the temporary casino might bring in, Kehl said he already has a number in mind.
“Based on what they are pulling over in Lincoln, and I’m trying to keep low expectations so I’m not disappointed, but I feel like $300 a day per device is a reasonable number,” he said, which would add up to $90,000 a day based on the 300 slot machines in operation. “They are tracking even a little bit more than that in Lincoln, so we’ll see how it plays out.”
As a frame of reference, Lincoln’s WarHorse Casino opened in October, with slot machine revenues reported at $1.4 million a day during its first month of operations.
“This is really just step one,” Kehl continued. “When the total resort is open it’s a whole different animal. This is just a taste to get things started and create some money for the horse industry.”
By the time the full resort and hotel are open, Kehl said Elite will have invested $150 million in the Grand Island project.
“We are pleasantly surprised by the turnout in Grand Island,” he said, looking around the casino on opening day. “We’ve been great supporters of this project and it’s been a long-time coming.”
Former Aurora resident and current Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak also shared his perspective on the day, noting that his focus remains on the horse racing industry.
“My mission is to provide for the horses, the horsemen, staff and the guests of Fonner Park,” he said. “The introduction of casino revenue puts us on a path of regenerating a once-thriving thoroughbred racing industry in Nebraska.
“Well beyond what the Nebraska voters are receiving in the form of property tax relief, this is the absolutely necessary lifeboat for Nebraska thoroughbred racing,” he added. “The casino revenue that we will share with the horsemen will enable us to increase our purses and money is what drives this industry, as it does just about every other industry in the world.”