Nebraskans for Video Keno, a group pushing for the inclusion of video keno in the November ballot, has made a substantial contribution of about $160,000 by the end of May, according to a spokesman.
The money was the video keno group's contribution to the $1.2 million raised by different groups that would finance the campaign drive for the authorization of a proposal that would allow a casino in each of Nebraska's three congressional districts.
The Omaha, Winnebago and Santee Sioux tribes are three tribes joining their efforts to push for one off reservation casino. They were responsible for raising $291,000, bulk of it coming from the Arizona Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation tribe. This tribe has been successful in having a tribally run casino. The three tribes comprise a group supporting this plan called the Committee For Better Schools and More Jobs in Nebraska.
Two years ago, a similar initiative was proposed. The 2004 petition would have authorized casinos, slot machines and video keno across the state. The petition was able to make it to the November ballot after surpassing required signatures by a large margin, being backed up by a $1 million dollar funding, mostly coming from Coast Casinos of Las Vegas and Boyd Gaming Corp. The bill however, was voted down.
This year, majority of the financing also came from Boyd Gaming Corp., their contribution amounting to $755,000.
Anti-gambling groups has been hot on the heels of the pro-gambling petition campaign. They claim that efforts to authorize casinos and video keno would be against the constitution. Gambling opponents are hoping that the issue will not be included in the ballot even if enough signatures are collected by the July 7 deadline because the constitution prohibits submitting similar ballot proposals more than once in three years.
"Do we change the constitution to allow Class III gambling? That question has not changed," Pat Loontjer, a leader of an antigambling coalition says.
The pro-gambling camp on the other hand argue that the 2006 plan for three casinos is substantially different from the 2004 plan that would have allowed slot machines across the state. One of the groups that support this rebuttal is Nebraskans for Video Keno.
Video keno operators, aside from supporting the three-casino plan have also been busy with their own November ballot inclusion issue. Since March 2006 they have been circulating the petition to authorize video keno, gathering signatures to back-up the initiative.
According to the group, they are not backed-up by casinos.
Friday, August 18 , 2006
John M. Thorpe
