The gambling ghosts of Omaha were restless once again this year, but Nebraska voters won’t have the option to decide whether they want to legalize casinos.
Back in August, a proposal that would have placed legalization in the hands of voters, in November, failed. Organizers of a petition drive amassed nearly 120,000 signatures in an attempt to pass a constitutional amendment, but more than 41,000 signatures were rejected, and the initiative sputtered to a stop.
Two other initiatives designed to expand gambling options at Nebraska racetracks and establish a tax on gross gambling revenue also foundered. Once again Nebraska remains, shall we say, a little bit pregnant on the subject of fully legalizing casinos.
How so?
Well, in Nebraska it’s only slightly easier to find a Cornhuskers fan than it is to locate a place to gamble. The state’s Native American tribes offer four casinos plus gambling associated with a racetrack, according to 500nations.com. (Nebraska tribes also operate at least four casinos in Iowa.)
Off the reservation, there’s plenty of pari-mutuel wagering at four racetracks.
This sort of schizophrenia when it comes to gambling legalization remains pretty common in many states. Politicians in jurisdictions with long traditions of wagering on horses and illegal bookmaking still get pink-cheeked and positively Puritan when casino legalization is suggested. So it is with Nebraska, which seems resigned to allowing legalization to slowly drip into the water system instead of bellying up to the bar and ordering a double.
Perhaps the politicians fear folks like Nate Grasz, a policy analyst for the Nebraska Family Alliance. On the subject of the failure of the legalization ballot initiative, Grasz told The Associated Press in August, “Nebraska consistently ranks as one of the best places to live, work and raise a family, and we’ve achieved that status without casinos in our backyard. Proponents of casinos cannot point to a single place in the United States where casinos have revitalized a community.”
His view isn’t new. Other than for areas riddled from the recession and high unemployment, the approach of casino gambling is rarely heralded. But once made legal, most of the negative rhetoric goes quiet. Whether on the coasts or in the middle of the Bible Belt, gambling joints great and small rarely lack for business.
According to its legislative counsel, until 1934 all forms of gambling were illegal in Nebraska. “At that time,” the official website states, “… the Constitution was amended to permit pari-mutuel horse racking when conducted on licensed race track enclosures.”
That makes the gambling issue in the Cornhusker State look pretty simple. It’s far from that.
It’s no secret that the gambling ghosts of Omaha have been part of the scene for generations. Las Vegans with an interest in history know that one of the town’s legendary casino men, Jackie Gaughan, got his start as a storefront bookmaker in Omaha, which featured full-fledged casino action on the edge of that city.
Long before Las Vegas was established, gambling was in full swing in Omaha. Multiple mobs influenced the play, and by at least one count there was more illicit gambling there per capita than anywhere in the U.S.
In short, like many states, Nebraska has had a long and sometimes uneasy relationship with gambling. Today, you’ll find keno and some slot machines, and a variety of gaming across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa. And, as mentioned, there are Native American gambling halls and wagers aplenty available at horse tracks.
But for whatever it’s worth in 2016, Nebraska residents can still say they’ve rejected full-fledged casino gambling. So the gambling ghosts of Omaha haven’t yet been laid to rest.
John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Contact him at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.
