The Grand Island opens a temporary casino
Construction of the permanent Nebraska-based venue will begin in fall 2023.
The Grand Island Casino Resort, Nebraska opened its temporary casino on Tuesday, and saw a delegation of community leaders and gamblers assemble outside its doors. Following a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, visitors were allowed in once their IDs and wristbands were verified.
The temporary casino will be home to 300 slot machines and employ over 100 staff members. Table games are projected to be added by June 2023, according to Vince Fiala, general manager of Grand Island.
Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak said he was excited about how the casino would reap benefits to the Grand Island area and thoroughbred horseracing at Fonner Park. Kotulak commented: “I foresee not only South Locust, downtown, but all Grand Island to really be elevated.
“I think the adjacent communities – even counties – will have employees that are coming here to work.”
Construction of the permanent casino will not begin until the fall of 2023 and is touted to bring a ‘24-hour Vegas-inspired casino experience,’ which will include sports betting operations. A 116-room hotel, first-class spa and multiple dining options will also be housed in the completed facility.
Grand Island is an umbrella company run by Iowa-based Elite Casino Resorts, whose CEO, Dan Kehl said: “We look forward to providing excellent service and demonstrating our company values not only to our guests but to the entire community.
“We are excited to partner with Fonner Park to add this temporary casino and, ultimately, a first-class casino resort to this race track.”
Kotulak believes this race track is integral to ‘saving’ Nebraska’s thoroughbred horseracing and that casino revenue would infuse Fonner Park, allowing for larger racing purses. He said: “With better, higher purse money, we’re going to elevate our racing.”
Tags/Keywords
Players trust our reporting due to our commitment to unbiased and professional evaluations of the iGaming sector. We track hundreds of platforms and industry updates daily to ensure our news feed and leaderboards reflect the most recent market shifts. With nearly two decades of experience within iGaming, our team provides a wealth of expert knowledge. This long-standing expertise enables us to deliver thorough, reliable news and guidance to our readers.
Latest News
