Nebraska Regulators: WarHorse Casino Can Open in Omaha in August

WarHorse brought Nebraska its first casino in 2022 in Lincoln. Now they’re ready to open their next site in Omaha, where they will challenge Council Bluffs, Iowa, more directly. (Image: Kenneth Ferriera / Associated Press)

The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission voted unanimously to allow the WarHorse Casino in Omaha to open on August 6, the culmination of a decades-long effort to bring a casino to the city.

The commission voted Friday to allow the WarHorse Casino to operated 24 hours a day beginning on its opening date, pending compliance checks before the grand opening. 

WarHorse Going Head-to-Head with Iowa Casinos

Lance Morgan, CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc. and WarHorse Casino, expressed excitement over the approval for the casino, which will be located at 63^rd and Q Streets. 

“In some ways, I’ve been working on this for about 30 years And so it’s almost hard to believe, a little surreal,” Morgan said, according to the Omaha World-Herald. “But I can’t wait to actually see it open. And then, like anything else, we’ll just get to the next phase and the next phase and keep it growing.”

The casino will open with over 900 electronic games as well as table games. A second phase is expected to be completed for next spring, which will add another 400 gaming positions as well as additional dining options.

The new casino is expected to compete with the three casinos in Council Bluffs, Iowa, located just a few miles away over the Missouri River from Omaha. Morgan has said that he expects the WarHorse Casino to take about 40 percent of the revenue from the Council Bluffs facilities. 

“We wanted to come out swinging against the Council Bluffs competition,” Morgan told KETV Omaha.

Officials Hope for Expanded Racing in 2025

The new casino is actually a racino, though the adjoining racetrack won’t be hosting many events for the time being. Horsemen’s Park, which is the facility the casino is attached to, will host racing for just one day this year on September 29. That’s the minimum to maintain its racing license in Nebraska. 

However, the hope is to increase the amount of racing available in 2025. Right now, officials say that ongoing construction makes it impractical to host more racing. Horsemen’s Park opened in January 1998, and has historically hosted both live racing and simulcasting on site. Currently, simulcasting at Horseman’s Park takes place on a temporary building located on the track’s infield. 

The WarHorse Casino will pay a 20 percent tax on gross gaming revenue to the state of Nebraska. Most of that money, 70 percent in total, will go towards property tax relief in the state. Another 25 percent goes to Douglas County, while the remaining five percent will be split between the state’s general fund and a fund to help combat compulsive gambling. WarHorse Casino estimates that it will pay nearly $100 million in taxes each year. 

Warhorse will be the second permanent racino to open in Nebraska. Harrah’s Columbus opened this May and will feature weekend racing from mid-August to md-September. Another WarHorse Casino in Lincoln expects to open its permanent facility in around the beginning of November, while Grand Island Casino Resort is on schedule to open in early 2025.