First Nebraska racetrack casino approved for table games

Jun 25, 2023

Grand Island Casino Resort General Manager Vince Fiala (left) watches as employees at dealer school practiced using table games earlier this month. The Nebraska Racing & Gaming Commission approved the casino for table games on Friday.

Late in her presentation to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission on Friday, Sharon Haselhoff was asked how soon it would be before table games were put into action at Grand Island Casino Resort.

"We're thinking 6 o'clock," said Haselhoff, the regional vice president for Elite Casino Resorts, which is managing the casino at Fonner Park.

Despite the laughter from the crowd and some board members, she wasn't joking.

Minutes later — after the commission voted unanimously to allow five blackjack tables, a craps table, one for roulette and another for Texas hold 'em poker, along with 46 additional slot machines — Haselhoff confirmed to the Journal Star that the tables would be operational by the dinner hour.

The staff at Grand Island Casino Resort set up the tables — orange felt, if you were wondering — earlier this week and spent some time going through what amounted to a dress rehearsal.

She and Vince Fiala, the casino's general manager, had little doubt they would be ready for action by 6 p.m. Friday.

They are the first table games approved by the Racing and Gaming Commission and Chairman Dennis Lee said it's fitting that the honor went to Fonner Park.

"This is a big day for Grand Island," Lee said. "I think it's appropriate that Grand Island be the first because of its long history in this state with horse racing."

It was a big day for Grand Island, which will open its sports betting kiosk next week that, like the sports betting operation at WarHorse Lincoln, was given an expanded sports betting catalog by the board at Friday's meeting.

The five-member board unanimously approved adding futures wagering along with World Boxing Association bouts and — just in time for Sunday's championship game — men's and women's FIFA World Cup Soccer matches.

Grand Island Casino Resort is still operating out of a temporary facility, but Haselhoff said the addition of table games, sports betting and a total of 347 slot machines provides its guests with amenities never seen in the state of Nebraska.

"It creates an environment that is a lot more than gaming," she said. "We're giving more of a resort experience."

Carrie Schiraldi, a memorabilia designer for Hard Rock International, and Mike Adams, assistant general manager at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, talks about a dress worn by Taylor Swift which is one of more than a dozen new items added to the collection at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa.

Slot machines can be seen in the reflection of an odds board as sports betting kicks off in Nebraska at WarHorse Casino in Lincoln on Thursday.

Gamblers place bets on kiosks at WarHorse Casino in Lincoln on Thursday.

Winnebago Tribal Council Member Kenny Mallory, left, and Vice President of Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association, David Anderson, place the first ceremonial sports bet in Nebraska at WarHorse Casino in Lincoln on Thursday.

Winnebago Tribal Council Member Kenny Mallory, left, and Vice President of Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association, David Anderson, hold up their receipts from placing the first ceremonial sports bet in Nebraska at WarHorse Casino in Lincoln on Thursday.

A gambler uses a kiosk to place a sports bet at WarHorse Casino in Lincoln on Thursday. Bets must be placed in person at one of the kiosks or at the window.

Slot machines can be seen in the reflection of an odds board as sports betting kicks off in Nebraska at WarHorse Casino in Lincoln on Thursday.

Winnebago Tribal Council member Kenny Mallory speaks to the media after placing the first ceremonial sports bet in Nebraska at WarHorse Casino in Lincoln on Thursday. Mallory placed a bet on Wake Forest winning the College World Series.

Winnebago Tribal Council member Kenny Mallory speaks after placing the first ceremonial sports bet in Nebraska at WarHorse Casino in Lincoln on Thursday. Mallory placed a bet on Wake Forest winning the College World Series.

People leave WarHorse Casino as sports betting kicks off in Lincoln on Thursday.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7391 or [email protected]

On Twitter @psangimino

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