Gaughan company pitches project for Nebraska

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Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003 | 9:53 a.m.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Coast Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas sent its president to a legislative hearing in Nebraska to urge lawmakers to approve casino gambling, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Harlan Braaten, president and chief operating officer of Coast, represented the company at this week's hearing.

Coast is headed by Nebraska native Michael Gaughan. Its Las Vegas casinos are the Barbary Coast, Gold Coast, Suncoast and The Orleans.

Braaten said he could not answer whether the Omaha market -- which already has three casinos in Council Bluffs, Iowa -- would support a destination casino, the Omaha newspaper reported.

The World-Herald reported that Braaten said a Coast casino would draw travelers off Interstate 80 and encourage out-of-state friends and relatives to visit more often. He estimated that such a casino would cost about $150 million and would be similar to the Ameristar Casino in Council Bluffs.

Venetian owner Sheldon Adelson, on the other hand, is interested in building a larger destination resort for conventioneers and tourists in Omaha.