Nebraska voters overwhelmingly approved casino gambling at horse race tracks in 2020.But today, there are only two temporary facilities up and running, one in Lincoln and the other in Grand Island.A third casino will soon open in Columbus. Omaha's $500 million Warhorse facility isn't scheduled to open until next summer.What may seem to be a slow roll for some has been a fast-paced climb for others."The Racing and Gaming Commission in the state of Nebraska is trying as quickly as we can to get up all aspects of gaming," Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission Executive Director Tom Sage said. But he said that means making sure the regulations and regulators are in place."It's very complicated. The regulation of gaming. Many people thought we would bring a machine in and plug it in, and we'd be ready to go. You just can't turn on the light switch," Sage said.Casey Ricketts, the director of compliance for the commission, gave KETV Newswatch 7 a behind-the-scenes look at what their job entails.Commission staff are there when any gaming device is brought into the state.They cut the lock of a sealed semitrailer carrying the machines recorded the serial numbers and software. Each machine is tracked to where they will be located in the facility."Prior to any casino opening. We have to verify all the software and all the machines," Ricketts said.She took us inside Harrah's temporary casino at Agricultural Park in Columbus as regulators began verifying 250 slot machines.The facility is slated to open in a couple of weeks.But first, regulators check the software on each device to make sure the programming, odds and security have the green light."This ensures that the software is cryptographically strong and everything is good to go," Ricketts said.The software box is locked and sealed with security tape."No seal can be broken without a racing and gaming commission official present," Ricketts said.She said it's time intensive for a regulatory agency that last year at this time had only three full-time staff.Ricketts hadn't been hired yet."Currently, we have right around 18 employees. I believe that's not near enough," Sage said.Sage said when Columbus opens, there will be about 1,000 slot machines in the state. But as Omaha and other casinos open, they could be several thousand, as well as table games and sports wagering. "We still have many, many people to hire. I believe when we're ramped up to full casinos, I believe we're going to need somewhere in the range of 50 to 60 staff," Sage said. Since the commission is self-funded, they couldn't start hiring until after last June.That's when the first casino licensing fees, which are a million dollars each, were in the bank."Many states can't believe that we've been able to go to move as fast as we have," Sage said. Don Osert, the general manager of Harrah's in Columbus, believes Nebraska has done a really great job. He's been in the gaming business for nearly three decades."It's very similar to the other states that I've been in, and it's all about the integrity of gaming," Osert said."The word integrity is very, very important to us in the casino business," Osert said. For regulators, that means reviewing security. "Making sure minors are not getting on the floor," Sage said.Every slot machine will also have to be re-verified as part of a yearly audit."So we can pull up every slot machine and see kind of the reports and run reports meters, all that," Ricketts said.And reviewing any jackpot over $50,000. "We want to have personnel at these casinos 24 hours a day, and when I mean personnel, I mean state employees," Sage said.Lynne McNally of the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association also praised the commission for what they have accomplished in the past year."They basically created a whole new industry from nothing," McNally said.She said it's an industry that has new job skills that the state has never had before."They're hiring people as fast as they can. Some of these jobs are highly specialized and require gaming knowledge or experience, which means you have to hire from other areas because this industry hasn't existed in Nebraska before," McNally said.'But the payout for the state is worth it, according to Sage."We want the citizens of not only Nebraska, but our guests that maybe would come in from out of state to feel that our industry is regulated and they're getting a fair shake," Sage said.In the first six months, expanded gambling in Nebraska has brought in $8.3 million in tax receipts.Of that, $5.7 million went into the property tax relief fund and nearly $2 million to cities and counties where the casinos are located.