700 E Stolley Park Rd
Grand Island, NE 68801
Elite Casino Resorts applied to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission for a casino license on June 28, 2022 to build the $100 million Grand Island Casino Resort at Fonner Park. If approved, a temporary casino could open inside Fonner Park near the end of 2022. The grand opening of the permanent casiino resort will be in 2025.
Fonner Park will add a casino hotel to its racetrack following the 2020 voter approval to expand casino gambling. To develop and operate the casino, Fonner Park has selected Elite Casino Resorts, an Iowa-based company that operates casinos in Davenport, Iowa City and Larchwood, Iowa.
Temporary Casino
Fonner Park will open a temporary casino inside the concourse in December 2022. The casino will feature 280 slot machines, live table games, and a snack bar area. Blackjack, craps, roulette and horse betting will be added in 2023.
Permanent Casino
Construction of the Grand Island Casino Resort will begin in Fall 2023 and open in 2025.
Deposit $100 in Casino | Play with $250
37,500-square-foot casino floor
650 slot machines with future space for 850 slot machines
20 table games
Elite Sportsbook
Deposit $200 Crypto in Casino | Play with $700
4 Restaurants
Show Lounge (in gaming area)
VIP lounge
This will be a boutique hotel with 116 guest rooms and suites. The five-story hotel will be built directly over the casino and north of an existing clubhouse. The hotel will include both an indoor and an outdoor pool, a spa and salon, gift shop, and rooftop dining.
Surface parking plus a 400-space parking garage.
May 10, 2023
The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission approved a request from Grand Island Casino to expand the size of its temporary casino and add 40 slot machines, six blackjack tables, a craps tables and a roulette table.
[No Ads]Expansion plans move forward for temporary casino - Courtesy of KSNB Local4, Apr 18, 2023. Available from YouTube
The expansion will also include a new entertainment stage, more restaurant seating, and a larger area for food an alcohol service.
"Most importantly for our guests is that we will have bathrooms on the casino floor, which is one of our largest concerns with our guests. It's that they don't have to leave the floor and come back on, so that will be a big plus for our guests."
- Vince Fiala, General Manager
Construction will begin after the horse racing season ends May 20 and should take about a month. The new gaming addition should open by July 1st.
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January 4, 2023
The grand opening of the Grand Island's temporary casino was celebrated last Tuesday as the doors were opened to the public for the first time. The casino is located on the Fonner Park concourse and features 300 slot machines.
[No Ads]Grand Island temporary casino open at Fonner Park
Courtesy of NTV News, Dec. 30, 2022. Available from YouTube
Live table games will be added in a few months. Vince Fiala, the casino general manager, explained "We just haven't had time to train dealers yet to get the games put in, but we will have live table games in June."
Grand Island City Clerk RaNae Edwards was the ceremonial first slot machine player of the casino. Edwards said "It's so awesome. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. This is history."
Construction will start this fall on the permanent Grand Island Casino Resort. The casino will feature 650 slot machines, 20 table games and an Elite Sportsbook. There will be four restaurants, a show lounge, a VIP lounge, and a 116-room boutique hotel. The Grand Island Casino Resort will open in 2025.
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November 24, 2022
Construction on the temporary Grand Island Casino began in September inside the concourse of Fonner Park. Completion is expected in mid-December. The grand opening of the new casino is planned for later in December. That exact date for the opening has not been announced.
[No Ads]Fonner Park hopes to finish construction of temporary casino by mid-December Courtesy of NTV News, Nov 18 2022. Available from YouTube
The temporary Grand Island Casino at Fonner Park will open with 280 slot machines and a snack bar area. Horse betting kiosks and table games will be added after the first of the year. Table games will include blackjack, craps and roulette.
Hours of operation at the temporary casino will be 8 AM to midnight on weekdays and 8AM to 3 AM Friday and Saturday.
Construction for the permanent Grand Island Casino at Fonner Park will begin after the 2023 state fair ends in next September. The permanent casino will open in early 2024.
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August 27, 2022
Construction of the Grand Island temporary casino inside Fonner Park will break ground on September 7, 2022. The event is waiting for the Nebraska State Fair to end on September 5th. Construction is expected to finish in November with the grand opening around Thanksgiving weekend.
The temporary casino will be built on the inside concourse of the racetrack and feature 300 slot machines, table games and a food venue.
Construction of the permanent Grand Island Casino Resort will begin after the 2023 Nebraska State Fair has ended. The project is expected to take two years to complete with the opening date in 2025. The casino will feature 650 slot machines, 20 table games and an Elite sportsbook. The hotel will be 5 stories tall with 118 guest rooms. The property will include restaurants, a show lounge and a VIP lounge.
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August 1, 2022
Grand Island Casino Resort is a proposed project of Elite Casino Resorts to build a $100 million casino inside Fonner Park in Grand Island, Nebraska. The company submitted a gaming license application to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission in June 2022.
If the license is approved, the company will build a temporary casino at Fonner Park to operate during construction of the permanent casino. The temporary casino could open as early as the end of 2022. It would feature 300 slot machines, live table games and a quick food venue.
The permanent casino will start construction in 2023 and open in 2025. It will feature 650 slot machines, 20 table games, sportsbook, restaurants, show lounge, VIP lounge, and a 118-room hotel.
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