NORTH PLATTE, NE—DECEMBER 3, 2021—According to a regional market analysis presented Thursday by Sean Boyd, the president of Global Gaming Nebraska, a proposed racetrack and casino in North Platte, Nebraska could mean about $115 million in tax revenues for the city, county and state over a decade.

"The findings of this study verify our belief that western Nebraska is an untapped market for this type of entertainment facility," Boyd said. "This study confirms that, if approved for license, the investment we will make in these communities will have a positive impact on the western part of the state for decades to come."

Global Gaming Nebraska is a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation’s Global Gaming Solutions, a commercial business that oversees more than 26 casinos in Oklahoma and Texas. Among the company's tracks that run Quarter Horse races are Remington Park in Oklahoma City and Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Nebraskans' Brian Becker and his daughter, Breanne, who operate a one-day-a year Quarter Horse Meet in Hastings, have partnered with Global Gaming for the racetrack/casino proposals in North Platte and Gering, Nebraska.

The Becker's attended the meeting at the Prairie Arts Center where Boyd presented the project presentation proposing a five-eighths-mile dirt track and roughly 40,000-square-foot casino with more than 600 electronic games on a 73.58-acre tract of land in North Platte between Interstate 80 and East Walker Road.

Boyd said the marketing study showed that the project could draw from a population of roughly 260,000 within a 125-mile radius that includes out-of-area visitors from Wyoming, Kansas and Colorado. He said the economic impacts over the decade would be:

• $84 million to the Nebraska Property Tax Credit cash fund.
• $15 million to the City of North Platte.
• $15 million to Lincoln County.
• $6 million to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission and general fund.

In addition more than 180 jobs would be created with about a $5.5 million annual payroll. Boyd also said the benefits would be similar for a casino in Gering, which is about 175 miles from North Platte.

Nebraska State law dictates horse tracks must run at least one race day a year to offer simulcasting, but Boyd said there could be up to 30 days of Quarter-Horse racing within the first five years of the North Platte track’s operation.

Before the project can proceed in North Platte, the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission will have hold a public hearing on a final draft of casino regulations Dec. 17 in Lincoln. Should the board pass the rules, the Governor and Attorney General would have to approve the guidelines.

If approved, Boyd said construction would be a 12-month process and the hope would be to build the track and casino simultaneously.

Currently there are six racetracks in Nebraska, and Gering and North Platte are among seven communities where racetrack and casino proposals are being explored.

Another project, led by the Minnesota-based Canterbury Park Holding Corp, held a public meeting in November on a proposed casino, racetrack and hotel project just off exit 126 in Ogallala, about 50 miles west of North Platte.

An artist rendering of the proposed racetrack and casino to be constructed on a 72.58-acre tract of land between Interstate 80 and East Walker Road.