An artist's rendering, from 2012, that shows a proposed casino at the former Atokad racetrack in South Sioux City, Nebraska. The Winnebago Tribe plans to open an events center named Atokad Park at the site.
Nebraska newspaper calls on voters to reject a constitutional amendment to allow electronic betting on historical horse races:
Pat Loontjer of Gambling with the Good Life, a longtime opponent of expanded gambling in Nebraska, calls gambling a tax on the poor. She notes that the horse track in Omaha, which used to raise money for charitable works by Ak-Sar-Ben, now holds only two races a year. The track in Lincoln shut down when the State Fair moved to Grand Island. She’s skeptical that the longterm aim is to keep the tracks in business. “This is not innocuous,” she said Monday on a visit to Scottsbluff. “It isn’t going to save the horse racing industry.” On a recent research trip, she said, she found that players using the Instant Racing machines ignored the racing, which she described as a loophole, and focused on a slots option. She predicted that once they’re legal, Nebraska Indian tribes would seize on the opportunity and open their own outlets for Instant Racing. “This is the camel getting its nose under the tent,” agreed the Rev. Lauren Ekdahl of Gering United Methodist Church, a local opponent of gambling. “It will become pervasive.” He worries that expanded gambling will hurt families that can least afford it and would create more problems than it would solve. “It doesn’t create any product,” he said. “It doesn’t create any jobs.”Get the Story:
OPINION: Gambling (The Scottsbluff Star-Herald 7/16) Related Stories:
Winnebago Tribe welcomes referendum for gaming at racetrack (04/08)
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