It was just a couple of years ago that a potential developer, Penn National Gaming Inc., appeared ready, willing and able to construct a multimillion-dollar gambling palace in the southeast corner of Kansas, a site touted in an early study for the state as likely the most profitable of any eventually built in that state.
What a difference the flipping pages of a calendar can make.
No applications were received by the Kansas Lottery Commission by the Jan. 21 deadline for building and operating such a gambling house near Galena and Baxter Springs. The commission has extended the deadline to April 21.
There are a variety of reasons for the lack of enthusiasm by casino companies.
Foremost is the slipping economy. Gambling operators may be uneasy about plopping down the $250 million minimum investment and operating fee required by the state in the face of the economic reality of industrywide declining revenues.
Second, a $220 million Oklahoma tribal casino and hotel has opened on the Oklahoma side of the juncture of the borders of that state, Kansas and Missouri. Furthermore, there are other tribal casinos nearby, including just across the border near Seneca, in Miami, Okla., and Wyandotte, Okla.
The result is an increasingly tough, competitive environment in a tough economy. Casinos are used to competing aggressively for the dollars and cents of legions of gamblers. Consider Las Vegas, Atlantic City and, of course, the proliferation of tribal casinos as prime examples.
Penn National Gaming Inc. had appeared to be the leading contender for the casino in Cherokee County. But it didn’t submit an application. Does that mean a destination casino will never be built in Southeast Kansas?
Never say never when it comes to gambling. Remember that only a few generations ago, gambling was taboo in most states. But people wanted to place bets on the toss of the dice, the turn of a card or the spin of the wheels in a slot machine in more states.
Time bring changes.
