RALSTON, Neb. (WOWT) – The City of Ralston is hoping to benefit from a future casino that will be constructed at Horsemen’s Park.
Officials plan to turn Horsemen’s Park into WarHorse Casino with all the gambling you can find in Vegas. But there are no plans to build a hotel at the Omaha site.
It will take some time but Horsemen’s Park will become a full-blown casino. The City of Ralston is located about a mile away and some have concerns that the future casino will take customers away from the city’s gambling interest.
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The Ralston City Administrator, Rick Hoppe, said, “we’re cautiously optimistic that keno revenues may fall a little but will not fall dramatically.”
Ralston Keno brings in $1.3 million dollars a year. The lion’s share of those funds goes to support the Ralston Arena.
Ralston City Officials say they will keep a close eye view on how the casino affects the city’s keno dollars. But they also say there is an upside to moving the casino into the area.
Ralston’s Holiday Inn Express is right down the street. Hotel Manager Josh Martin is thrilled about the casino moving into his neighborhood.
“Them not having the hotel attached to it, we think it will be great for us being in such close proximity, said Martin. We do some business with their horse racing with live races over the summer months so we think this will extend on that business.”
Martin is eager to work with Ralston’s new neighbor. “We also think it’s a really great opportunity for more people to see what Ralston has to offer when they come and see the community,” said Martin.
Officials at the Holiday Inn Express says they are eager to work with the future casino.
Other businesses in the area are also hoping the future casino will bring more business to their shops and restaurants.
The Ralston City Administrator hopes the city will bring in more sales tax revenues with increased business from people coming into the area.
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