WarHorse breaks ground on $100m South Sioux City casino

WarHorse Gaming broke ground on a $100 million casino and hotel in South Sioux City, Nebraska on 27 August 2026, its third property in the state and the largest single investment yet by the commercial arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

The site sits next to the former Atokad Downs racetrack, on land WarHorse has held since Nebraska voters authorised casino gaming at licensed racetracks in a 2020 referendum. WarHorse Gaming, LLC is a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development company owned by the Winnebago Tribe.

“South Sioux City has been part of the vision for WarHorse from the beginning, and we’re excited to get started,” said Lance Morgan, president and chief executive of Ho-Chunk Inc.

What the build includes

The project runs in two phases across a 63,000 square foot facility. The gaming floor carries 600 slot machines and 16 table games, plus a small sportsbook served by betting kiosks. A 100-room hotel, an outdoor pool complex, convention space and a restaurant called the Nebraska Ale Haus with a second-story patio bar complete the first build.

An outdoor amphitheatre with capacity for 5,700 is planned alongside the casino, and the site will host live and simulcast horse racing, the activity the gaming licence is tied to under Nebraska law.

Gaming operations are expected to start in late 2027, with the full build-out taking around two years from groundbreaking. Morgan described the amphitheatre and the food and beverage offer as the reason to build a second phase at all.

“You can come for the casino, but there will be plenty of reasons to stay,” Morgan said.

He also pointed to the location itself, which fronts a highway corridor carrying traffic between Sioux City, Iowa and northeast Nebraska. “The highway visibility was pretty helpful. I want it to be cool,” he said.

Jobs and local tax

WarHorse expects 230 permanent jobs at the completed property, with construction work on top of that during the build. Average dealer pay at the casino is put at $60,000 to $65,000 a year.

Ho-Chunk Inc. employs around 850 people across its Omaha and Lincoln gaming operations. Once South Sioux City is running, the company expects to employ more than 1,000 in Nebraska.

The city and county are projected to receive $2 million to $2.5 million a year from their share of state gaming tax, which is set at 25% of the state take. Local officials put the near-term benefit on the land purchase, which is already generating property tax.

“The first wave is they bought the land. That produces more property tax,” said Rod Koch, mayor of South Sioux City.

Lori Warner, president of the South Sioux City Chamber of Commerce, pointed to visitor spending as the measure that matters locally. “It’s really about bringing in people spending the non-discretionary funds,” she said.

WarHorse’s position in Nebraska

WarHorse is the largest casino operator in a state that has only had commercial casinos since the 2020 vote. Five racetrack casinos operate in Nebraska, and WarHorse holds the top two by revenue.

WarHorse Casino Omaha generated $70.3 million in gaming revenue through July 2026, the highest figure in the state. WarHorse Casino Lincoln was second at $55.7 million. South Sioux City puts a third WarHorse site in the northeast corner of Nebraska and inside the Sioux City metropolitan area, which crosses the Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota state lines.

That border position is the commercial case for the site. Iowa has licensed commercial casinos across the river for decades, so WarHorse is opening against established competition rather than into an empty market, and is counting on highway traffic and the non-gaming amenities to pull visitors across.

Mobile betting on the November ballot

Nebraska currently allows sports betting only in person at licensed casinos. That keeps it outside the online market that states such as Michigan now report on monthly. A measure to legalise statewide mobile sports betting goes to Nebraska voters in November 2026, and WarHorse is backing it.

The sportsbook planned for South Sioux City is small and kiosk-based, which fits a retail-only market. If the November measure passes, the economics of that space change for every casino licensee in Nebraska, including the two WarHorse properties already trading. National operators are meanwhile deepening their sports ties, with the NFL confirming betting deals with DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics this month.

Construction is under way and the gaming floor is targeted for late 2027. The vote that decides whether Nebraska operators get a mobile channel comes more than a year before that.

Source: Ho-Chunk Inc.