‘Once in a generation’: Columbus casino project begins to take shape – Lincoln Journal Star

ANDREW KISERColumbus Telegram

Here are things you should know about betting at racetrack casinos in Nebraska.

When City Administrator Tara Vasicek talked about the many good projects coming to Columbus, she had a long list of reasons why thats the case.

These happenings includethe Columbus Community Building, the Columbus Fieldhouse, downtown improvements, new housing additions and what may be considered the pice de rsistance: the upcoming casino and racetrack.

Its an exciting time in Columbus, Vasicek said.

The casino will take a step forward toward completionlater this month.

The Columbus Planning Commission will discuss a redevelopment plan and preliminary plat for the area located off U.S. 81 north of town at 7 p.m. Monday at its regular meeting. The two measures the redevelopment plan and preliminary plat will then be presented to the Columbus City Council on Feb. 22.

People are also reading

Last July, Columbus Exposition and Racing announced a partnership with Caesars Entertainment Group. The plan is to have a 1-mile horse racing surface, a 40,000-square-foot casino and sportsbook with over 400 slot machines and 20 table games and space for retail and restaurants. A hotel is also planned.

The redevelopment plan will have to be approved so tax increment financing can be used for the project, Vasicek said. TIF, which allows local governments to invest in public infrastructure and other improvements, needs to be utilized because the area is not served by water or sewer, she said.

Also, 63rd Avenue west of the site will have to be paved, Vasicek said. A traffic study will have to be conducted and, more than likely, traffic lights will have to be installed, she said.

So, they will use tax increment financing for all that infrastructure, Vasicek said.

TIF wont only benefit the project, she added. The remaining land, which will be developed by other entities, will be less expensive to develop because it will have the backbone infrastructure, Vasicek said.

Mayor Jim Bulkley said he believes this casino will be a game-changer for Columbus.

Its going to be a huge addition to our community, Bulkley said. Quite honestly, its potentially a once-in-a-generation type opportunity and development thats coming to Columbus. Im excited about what we have. What I have seen so far is the development of a good-looking concept.

The land was the former home of Wishbones and Columbus Event Center, but that building was torn down.

Nebraskans showed they are in favor of allowing casino gambling at race tracks when 65% of voters approved three ballot measures in the November 2020 general election. One of the measures changed the state Constitution to allow gambling at race tracks. The others included setting up a Nebraska Gaming Commission and creating a 20% annual tax on gambling revenue.

Columbus is one of six Nebraska cities to already have a horse racetrack in place, with Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, South Sioux City and Hastings the others.

Support of the casino was seen in Columbus. Vasicek said over 62% of voters in the town were in favor of the measures.

That to me as the city administrator representing the whole community shows me that I need to do my best to make it happen the best way it can happen, Vasicek said.

Bulkley said the project will set Columbus apart from other communities, because it will be one of a select few to have such a facility.

It allows us to grow and bring people to town and offer things that we have never had before, he said.

The Caesars partnership isnt anything to glance over, Bulkley and Vasicek said. The company is one of the biggest bookers of entertainment in the world, they said.

Vasicek said she hopes the Caesars partnership will bring in concerts and entertainment to the area.These are things that we do not have in Columbus right now, she said.

More entertainment has been a major request. Vasicek said the city has conducted surveys that have noted that.

Weve heard over and over again that, We want more entertainment. We want more activities. Were leaving town to go have fun, Vasicek said. So I think this coupled with a lot of good things coming downtown is really going to bring some of that entertainment that our community desperately wants.

The flashing lights, the sirens, the hum of conversation, and the thrill of placing a bet are all part of the allure of casinos. While gambling has been around for centuries, casinos began popping up in Italy in the 17th century. The Casino di Venezia, which opened in 1638 in Venice, is theworlds oldest casino, though it was originally known as Theatre Saint Moses. It offered guests the opportunity to gamble during theatrical production intermissions.

By the 19th century, casinos appeared all over Europe. In the United States, towns like Las Vegas and Reno in Nevada, and Atlantic City in New Jersey, became known for casinos and the infamous ties held to organized crime. Gambling itself had a reputation as a vice that could lead to other bad habits.

Hollywoods own obsession with casinos has a long history as well. Classic film Casablanca features a casino as part of Rick Blaines nightclub. Throughout the next several decades, directors like Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Soderbergh tried their hand at movies about the appeal of gambling and the casinos that supported the lifestyle.

OLBGresearched the history of casinos on screen and put together a list of 20 of the best casino films. To be included, movies had to have important scenes take place in a casino, and the film had to have at least a 6.0 onIMDbor a 65 onMetacritic.

- Director: George Hickenlooper

- IMDb user rating: 6.2

- Metascore: 51

- Runtime: 108 minutes

This fictionalized retelling of a true story stars Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff, a corrupt Washington D.C. lobbyist motivated by greed and power. Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon stole funds from Native American casinos all while twisting laws for their convenience. In a nod to the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, one scene finds Scanlon and Abramoff screaming, Show me the money! Actress Kelly Preston who plays Abramoffs wife in the film played Maguires former girlfriend as well.

- Director: Steven Soderbergh

- IMDb user rating: 6.5

- Metascore: 58

- Runtime: 125 minutes

The sequel to Oceans Eleven finds Danny Ocean adding a partner to his band of thieves as they work together to pull off several European heists. Steven Soderbergh directed not only this second film in what would be a trilogy, but all three Oceans installments. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Elliot Gould, and Bruce Willis not only starred in the film, but they also had another thing in commonthey were all guest stars on the sitcom Friends.

- Director: Lewis Milestone

- IMDb user rating: 6.6

- Metascore: 57

- Runtime: 127 minutes

Featuring the Rat PackFrank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey BishopOceans 11, focuses on 11 men who pull off an unbelievable Las Vegas heist. Danny Ocean, played by Sinatra, leads his former World War II buddies in a plan to rob multiple casinos in a single night. This classic film would be remade in 2001 with George Clooney taking over the role of Danny Ocean. Angie Dickinson played Danny Oceans ex-wife in the 1960 film, while Julia Roberts stepped in for the updated version in 2001.

- Director: Guy Hamilton

- IMDb user rating: 6.6

- Metascore: 59

- Runtime: 120 minutes

The seventh film in the James Bond film franchise, which was based on the novels by Ian Fleming, stars Sean Connery as 007. The spy jets off to Las Vegas to investigate diamond smuggling and discovers a wealthy tycoon and a nefarious plot. Connery was the first actor to play James Bond and starred in seven of the films. The Oscar-nominated film was shot on location in Las Vegas at several casinos including The Riviera, Tropicana Las Vegas, and Circus Circus Las Vegas.

- Director: Barry Levinson

- IMDb user rating: 6.8

- Metascore: 80

- Runtime: 136 minutes

This film chronicled the life of notorious mobster Bugsy Siegel and his significant role in building modern Las Vegas. Starring Annette Bening and Warren Beatty, the two would fall in love during filming, marry soon after, and go on to have four children together. The film was nominated for an astounding 10 Oscars and won two. While Bugsy lost for best picture at the Oscars to The Silence of the Lambs, it did manage to take home the Golden Globe Award for best motion picturedrama.

- Director: Robert Luketic

- IMDb user rating: 6.8

- Metascore: 48

- Runtime: 123 minutes

Under the tutelage of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, six MIT students were trained to become card counters and made a killing in Las Vegas in this film, which is loosely based on the novel Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. While many filming locations were in Boston, including the Public Garden, Boston University, and Newbury Street, Las Vegas was also an important filming locale for 21. According to the Nevada Film Office, shooting took place in many Las Vegas casinos, including Planet Hollywood, The Venetian, Caesars Palace, Hard Rock Hotel, and Red Rock Casino.

- Director: Wayne Kramer

- IMDb user rating: 6.9

- Metascore: 69

- Runtime: 101 minutes

An unlucky man is used by the mob to cool things down for high rollers who are on a winning streak at a Las Vegas casino until he gets lucky in love, changing his own luck at the casino. Maria Bello, William H. Macy, and Alec Baldwin star in this film that was primarily shot in Reno, Nevada. Baldwin received both an Oscar and a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor for his role as casino boss Shelly Kaplow.

- Director: Steven Soderbergh

- IMDb user rating: 6.9

- Metascore: 62

- Runtime: 122 minutes

The final film in the Oceans Eleven trilogy, Oceans Thirteen finds the gang getting together to pull off another heist after one of the original 11 is double-crossed by casino owner Willy Bank, who is played by legendary actor Al Pacino. One of the lines in the film, You shook Sinatras hand, is a reference to Frank Sinatra who played Danny Ocean in the original version of Oceans 11. The phrase is meant as a sort of moral code or gentlemans agreement.

- Director: Ben Younger

- IMDb user rating: 7.0

- Metascore: 63

- Runtime: 120 minutes

When Seth Davis father, a judge, catches him running an illegal casino from his apartment, he isnt happy. Davis, played by Giovanni Ribisi, goes out and gets a job as a broker in a boiler room, which according to Dictionary.com is, a place where illicit brokers engage in high-pressure selling, over the telephone, of securities of a highly speculative nature or of dubious value. The film was loosely based on the story of Jordan Belfort who was the subject of the 2013 Martin Scorsese film, The Wolf of Wall Street, which was also the title of Belforts memoir.

- Director: Richard Kwietniowski

- IMDb user rating: 7.1

- Metascore: 70

- Runtime: 104 minutes

At the heart of this film is a tale of gambling addiction. Based on the true story of Brian Molony, Owning Mahowny tells the tale of Dan Mahowny, a bank manager, who has access to multimillion dollar accounts that he used to feed his gambling habit. The real-life Molony committed bank fraud by embezzling $10.4 million from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The film, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman as Mahowny, was filmed in Toronto and Atlantic City, where Molony actually dropped $1.4 million at a New Jersey casino just before his arrest in 1982.

- Director: Mike Hodges

- IMDb user rating: 7.1

- Metascore: 75

- Runtime: 94 minutes

Aspiring writer Jack Manfred gets a job as a croupier, someone who works the tables at a casino and handles bets and payouts. While Jack does not gamble, his father does, and it is he who gets Jack the job at a London casino. Portrayed by Clive Owen, Jack gets caught up in a love triangle and a plot to cheat the casino before the films end. The casino in the film was actually created on a set in Germany.

- Director: Karel Reisz

- IMDb user rating: 7.2

- Metascore: 65

- Runtime: 111 minutes

James Caan stars as high-stakes gambler and English professor Axel Freed, who gets so caught up in gambling that he offers a loan shark his life for collateral against a loan. This crime thriller earned Caan an Oscar nod for best actor. Screenwriter James Toback has plenty of experience with gambling and based the films screenplay on his own addictionthough Freeds gambling appears to be an addiction to the rush and danger rather than to the act of gambling. A 2014 remake of the film starred Mark Wahlberg in the lead role.

- Director: Robert Altman

- IMDb user rating: 7.2

- Metascore: 84

- Runtime: 108 minutes

A casual gambler and a professional become friends and dig themselves deeper into the world of betting in this film starring Elliott Gould and George Segal. In a final desperate attempt to win big, the two characters head to Reno, Nevada, for the poker game to end all poker games. California Split was the first non-Cinerama film to use the eight-track sound system for dialogue, allowing for the recording of eight separate audio channels. The use of this technology solidified Altmans use of overlapping dialogue, which became one of his trademarks as a director.

- Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

- IMDb user rating: 7.2

- Metascore: 78

- Runtime: 101 minutes

See the rest here:

'Once in a generation': Columbus casino project begins to take shape - Lincoln Journal Star