Now that a pro-racino constitutional amendment will not appear on the November ballot in Nebraska, groups supporting the proposal still are in shock and considering what to do next. A coalition led by Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, turned in about 120,000 signatures on petitions, but Nebraska Secretary of State John Gale disqualified about 42,000; about 24,000 of those were rejected because the signers were not registered in the county indicated on the petition sheet. An additional 4,600 signatures were duplicates, and more than 3,000 were turned down because the signers were not registered voters. At least 117, 188 valid signatures were required to place the issue on the November 8 ballot.
Lance Morgan, chief executive officer at Ho-Chunk Inc. said, “We don’t have a consensus on what to do just yet. We have not formulated a definitive plan but we do plan to continue with this.” Ho-Chunk spent $1.4 million on the 10-month campaign. The Winnebago owns and operates the WinnaVegas Casino Resort in Sloan, Iowa. It planned to reopen Atokad Downs horseracing track in South Sioux City, Nebraska.
Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association President Barry Lake added, “It’s too early to tell at this point. We were all in with that petition drive. The two partner organizations contributed a great deal of money and employee resources to it. We were obviously shocked and disappointed.” The NHBPA promotes horseracing and considers casino games a way to help the struggling sport.
Republican state Senator Paul Schumacher said if the constitutional amendment had appeared on the ballot and was passed by voters, state officials would have had more difficulty regulating the industry. “It would be wise for the Nebraska legislature to say, ‘That was a near miss. Maybe it would behoove us to put something on the ballot.’ The Nebraska legislature now has a chance to do it right. Had this latest initiative been done competently, it would have been on the ballot.”
Pat Loontjer, executive director of the anti-gambling group Gambling With the Good Life, said, “With more than $1 million and 10 months, the petition organizers couldn’t get their signatures. The people of Nebraska have spoken. They do not want this. We’re just grateful to the citizens of Nebraska who care about their quality of life.”
Nebraska law currently allows keno, horseracing and a lottery.
