Kearney council awards Keno contract to Big Red Keno after contested public hearing

The Kearney City Council voted to award the city’s Keno lottery operating contract to EHPV Lottery Services LLC, doing business as Big Red Keno, following a recommendation from a nine-member review committee and more than an hour of public comment at the June meeting. Council members approved the committee’s recommendation by roll call. The contract will replace the current operator when the existing agreement expires in mid-August.

The committee that reviewed proposals and conducted interviews included four city staff members, two council members and three citizen members from the city’s Keno/community betterment committee. City Manager Brenda Jensen told the council the solicitation began in April and the committee scored proposals and interviews on eight criteria including experience, payout structure, technology use and vision for Keno in Kearney. Big Red scored highest on the committee’s weighted 40-point scale (36.4 points versus 31.5 for incumbent Kearney Gaming and 22.5 for Community First), Jensen said, and the committee recommended Big Red for award.

Why it matters: Keno proceeds are routed into a dedicated community-betterment fund that supports nonprofit and local projects, and the selection of an operator affects how the game is run, how quickly players can buy tickets at bars, whether a local “live ball” draw remains, and projected city revenue. Jensen said the current state statute sets a guaranteed minimum revenue share of 5 percent to the municipality but operators can guarantee a higher fixed percentage; Big Red proposed a guaranteed 8.75 percent of sales, compared with the statutory minimum and the city’s recent average of about 7.4 percent.

What the council heard: The three firms that bid — Big Red Keno, Community First Keno (a local investor group) and Kearney Gaming (the incumbent operator) — each addressed the council in a five-minute presentation. Public comment thereafter was heavily attended by bar owners, employees and residents.

- Supporters of Community First and several local bar owners urged the council to keep the operation local or to split the contract between two operators. They argued that locally owned operators would keep profits and management decisions in Kearney, preserve the current live ball draw at locations such as the Chicken Coop, maintain locally staffed ticket sellers in bars and protect handle (total ticket sales) and related restaurant and sales tax revenues. Several speakers said shifting to a model where bars supply staff to sell tickets could reduce sales because bartenders are too busy to write tickets on busy nights.

- Kearney Gaming’s owner, Mike Nevere, told the council Kearney Gaming holds contracts with all seven existing satellite locations and said the incumbent had a 24-year operating history in Kearney that generated substantial proceeds for community projects. He and several business owners asked for more time and argued some written letters from outlets had not reached the review committee in advance.

- Tom Ryan, representing Big Red Keno, emphasized the company’s statewide experience (reported as operating about 279 satellite locations in Nebraska) and said Big Red would deploy a Keno app and offer a larger pooled prize structure (access to Omaha’s prize pool) that could permit top prizes to reach $250,000. Jensen told the council Big Red planned to roll out its app in mid-July and could offer the app in Kearney when it takes over operations.

Council discussion and decision: Council members who served on the review committee described following the published scoring matrix and said they could not favor a local bidder simply for being local; they emphasized adherence to the sealed RFP process. Other council members acknowledged the public concerns and said the option of awarding two contracts or changing the statutory framework merited future consideration but that the current selection should stand because the committee followed the published evaluation process.

Formal action: Councilmember motioned and the council adopted Resolution No. 2025-70 to accept the committee recommendation and award the Keno operator contract to EHPV Lottery Services LLC (Big Red Keno). The roll-call vote was recorded as unanimous (Aye: Mayor, Bushcutter, Moore, Schmidt, Stratman). The council and staff noted a possible brief lapse in service when the current operator’s equipment is removed and the new operator installs equipment; staff said they expect only a short gap and that licensing at the state level must be completed before operation begins.

Unresolved questions and next steps: Councilmembers and several commenters requested the city and operator monitor handle, local staffing impacts, pay-table changes and the effect on sales tax and restaurant business. Multiple speakers asked the council to consider whether future procurements should allow two operators or otherwise change the structure to keep more operational control local; several council members said that would require legislative or policy change beyond the current RFP. The contract terms, including any donated funds to the community-betterment fund that an operator offers, will be finalized during contract negotiations and are subject to usual city contracting processes.

Votes at a glance: Resolution No. 2025-70 — Award Keno operator contract to EHPV Lottery Services LLC (Big Red Keno). Outcome: approved by roll call (Ayes: Mayor, Bushcutter, Moore, Schmidt, Stratman).