Nebraska Grand Island Casino Resort appoints general manager
Vince Fiala has been named general manager of Elite Casino’s venue at Fonner Park.
US.- Elite Casino Resorts announced the appointment of Vince Fiala as general manager of Grand Island Casino Resort. Elite Casino Resorts of Iowa was named as the operator for the development at Nebraska’s Fonner Park race track in April 2021. It filed for a licence in June.
Fiala was previously the assistant general manager of Elite’s Grand Falls Casino Resort in Larchwood, Iowa. He has been with the company since 2014.
He has been in the casino industry for 14 years and has over 20 years of experience in hospitality and finance. In addition to his seven years with Grand Falls Casino Resort, Fiala worked for Midco Connections as accounting manager, at a casino in South Dakota as controller and interim general manager, and for the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center in Plymouth, MN as accounting manager.
He will assume his new role immediately and take the lead in building the Grand Island Casino Resort team in preparation for the opening of a temporary facility.
Sharon Haselhoff, regional vice president of Grand Island Casino Resort, said “It’s always our goal to promote from within the company whenever possible. It’s especially rewarding when you see people you work with rise to the challenge and make it to the next level.”
The temporary casino could open by the end of the year if the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission approves the application. It would open inside the existing Fonner Park facility with 300 slot machines, five table games, and a grab-and-go dining option.
Construction on the permanent casino will start in 2023, with completion expected sometime in 2025. The resort will include a 37,000-square-foot casino floor with 650 slot machines and 20 table games, plus a sportsbook.
The venue will also offer four restaurants including a rooftop dining experience, a show lounge and sports bar, a 116-room boutique hotel, a salon and spa, gift shop, an indoor and outdoor pool with an expansive deck and a 400-stall parking garage.
The casino will connect to the existing grand stand at the horse track while also providing views of the state fair grounds on the west and horse races on the east. Elite Casino said in the press release that it would start taking employment applications as soon as the licence is approved.
The general contractor for both the temporary and permanent structures is Baxter Construction of Des Moines, from Iowa. The temporary casino will be used for storage after the permanent venue is built.
Nebraska voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing casinos at the state’s horse racetracks in November 2020.
