It’s try-again time for casinos in Nebraska. Ho-Chunk Inc. CEO Lance Morgan announced last week that ballot language had been filed with the secretary of state’s office to authorize casino gambling at the state’s horse tracks, generating a projected $50 million in tax
revenue. “Nebraskans’ money is funding other states’ priorities,” Morgan said. Mind you, a similar effort three years ago failed due to public indifference: Not enough signatures could be gathered. Morgan has a point—all but one of the states surrounding Nebraska offers casino gambling. Still, it’s very much an open question of whether voters will harken to a “Keep the Money in Nebraska” pitch, having failed to do so before.
Ho-Chunk is not exactly a disintered party, since it owns the Atokad (spell it backwards) racing oval. Its partner in this new effort is the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent Protection Association, whose industry is on the decline. 2017 was the worst year for horse racing in Nebraska since simulcast racing was legalized in 1980. This year, 59 days of racing will be held across six Nebraska tracks, including one at Atokad. The latter is owned by the Winnebago Tribe, which also owns the WinneVegas Casino Resort, in Iowa.
Gambling has failed at the Nebraska ballot in 2004 and 2006, while a 2014 push for historical racing was tossed due to inadmissible ballot wording. We wish the Ho-Chunk and friends well but it looks like they’re running an uphill race.
