{"id":22297,"date":"2018-08-21T08:17:17","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T16:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=22297"},"modified":"2021-11-12T08:25:23","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T16:25:23","slug":"horseplay-in-nebraska-high-art-in-springfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/horseplay-in-nebraska-high-art-in-springfield\/","title":{"rendered":"Horseplay in Nebraska; High art in Springfield"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s early days for the 2020 election but the Ho-Chunk Nation<\/strong> is partnering with\u00a0The Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent\u00a0& Protective Association<\/strong> on a petition drive to get racinos onto that\u00a0\"\"election-year ballot. As many as six tracks could be affected. One of the, Atokad Downs<\/strong> in South Sioux City<\/strong> (‘Dakota’ spelled backwards, geddit?) is owned by the Ho-Chunk. It hosts a grand total of one race a year, thereby keeping its license alive. Arguing that Nebraskans wager $500 million in neighboring states, Ho-Chunk In<\/strong>c. CEO Lance Morgan<\/strong> says,\u00a0\u201cWe believe the revenue should stay in Nebraska<\/strong>.\u201d A 2016 ballot question sputtered out for lack of signatures. Morgan says it was too complicated for the Average Joe to digest.\u00a0\u201cThis shows we don\u2019t give up. We\u2019ve got to get it exactly right,” Morgan says of a new petition that will have fewer questions and more-accessible language.<\/p>\n

* Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races<\/strong> will make it in time for the kickoff of NFL<\/strong> season. The Penn National Gaming<\/strong>-run racino will open its sports book Sept. 1<\/a>. William Hill<\/strong> will operate the sports book. A FanDuel<\/strong> book at The Greenbrier<\/strong> has been approved but FanDuel and the casino are having trouble getting their cleats on. Mardi Gras Casino<\/strong> and Wheeling Island Casino<\/strong> has also been approved for sports \"\"betting but opening dates aren’t available. Ironically, considering that his family owns The Greenbrier, Gov. Jim Justice<\/strong> (R) favors business-killing integrity fees. Would we call that an in-justice? The sleeper may be Wheeling Island Casino, which is geographically well-positioned to lure players from both Ohio<\/strong> and Pennsylvania<\/strong>, where no sports betting is available although Penn National has filed the first Keystone State application<\/a> for a sports book.<\/p>\n

* Continuing MGM Resorts International<\/strong>‘s commitment to public art, it has commissioned<\/a> a lobby sculpture for MGM Springfield<\/strong>, which opens this Friday<\/a>. Mia Perlman<\/strong><\/a>‘s The Flying Tidings Whirled<\/em> (the title is from Emily Dickinson<\/strong>) is an \"\"aluminum\u00a0vortex that commemorates the 2011 tornado that ripped through downtown and indirectly made MGM Springfield possible. “When MGM approached me about doing a commission in this space, they were very interested about doing something on the tornado that happened in Springfield,” Perlman told a newspaper. “You don’t want to make light of it, because it’s a very serious thing,” she added, explaining that she wanted to capture the drama of the storm without seeming to glorify it or to frighten visitors.<\/p>\n