The group successfully derailed similar ballot measures in the early 2000s. From 1977 to 2014, Beatrice bought 120 properties with a total investment of 4.9 million. Pat Loontjer, executive director of the anti-casino group Gambling with the Good Life, said she expects to be outspent by gambling supporters but still plan to campaign against it. Following a historic flood in 1973, Beatrice decided to begin purchasing flood-prone properties instead of rebuilding. The main group behind the ballot campaign is Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, which has worked on other job-creation projects in Nebraska and Iowa. Supporters also say casinos will create jobs and help the state’s struggling horse-racing industry.
The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska recently opened a casino in Carter Lake, a town that’s technically a part of Iowa but is located on the western side of the Missouri River and surrounded by Omaha.Ī call to the pro-casino group Keep the Money in Nebraska wasn’t immediately returned Monday. over the road near the Elkhorn River in Elkhorn, Nebraska, Friday, March 15.
“This will make it so much worse.”īackers counter that Nebraska already has gambling-related problems because of the legal casinos in neighboring Iowa, just a short drive from Omaha across the Missouri River. Highway 75's northbound lane is closed because of flooding near Merritt's Beach RV Park on Friday, March 15, 2019. “We already fight gambling addition here in our state,” Ricketts said.
