Potential casino stirs debate at Ogallala Planning Commission Meeting
OGALLALA - An emotional crowd packed the Ogallala Planning Commission meeting Tuesday night, where tensions boiled over so much so one city official chose to walk out when several Keith County residents voiced strong opinions about a potential casino development in the area.
Ogallala Planning and Zoning Administrator Brandon Scott clarified the agenda did not include any action related to casino approval.
"Everyone should have been at the meeting that opposed legalizing gambling," Scott said. "That is my issue; it's a land use issue, we're not approving a casino."
Residents shared a variety of concerns, including how a casino could change the town’s culture. Pastor Matt Waitley of New Hope Church in Ogallala expressed fears about the social consequences.
"We’re concerned a casino will change the moral makeup of the community... it's not guaranteed, but it's our fear," Waitley said. He added he and others are worried about potential increases in crime and the erosion of community values.
Don Larreau, Associate Pastor at New Hope Church, spoke from personal experience. He says he lived near casinos in Colorado and California and detailed the negative impacts casinos had on those communities, including increases in addiction, homelessness and domestic abuse.
"At no point did they ever raise the moral compass of their community," Larreau said.
Zach White, a Grant native and educator in Ogallala, questioned why the casino development proposal had landed in Keith County.
“I’m trying to figure out why there isn’t a beautiful resort casino in Hastings right now, because my understanding was this license was originally in Adams County and got transferred here,” White said.
The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission approved a racing license application from Hastings Exposition and Racing, Inc. to establish a quarter horse track near Lake McConaughy in July. The racing company partnered with Elite Casino Resorts to develop a 5/8- mile track on a 178-acre site.
The company had previously tried to build a race track and casino in Hastings, the city which held the horse racing license since 2004. The city denied his initial request to rezone land on the north edge of town for the project in March 2022, but the council later approved a slightly-altered proposal in November of that year. The company announced its plans to move the license to Ogallala in June 2023.
“You don’t invest that kind of money in a community where they’re not really supportive all the way around,” spokesman Brian Jorde said in 2023. “We battled for two years and then we kind of just realized, enough is enough of this.”
Elite Casino Resorts submitted a gaming application to build a casino resort next to the track in Ogallala. The planned complex included a hotel, restaurants and truck stop.
In the end Tuesday, the Ogallala Planning Commission voted 5-3 against a land rezoning measure. Planning Commission Chairman Austyn Dupeire stated the item would not move forward to the City Council, though it could be refiled and reviewed again in the future.
Before the vote, tensions reached a breaking point as Scott abruptly left the meeting.
"Where were you in 2022? You came and protested it? Did you vote for it? We’re discussing the land, so if it was a Taco John's going in there, would you be here? Keep the minutes, I’m out,” Scott said before exiting.
