By Roger McKinney

rmckinney@joplinglobe.com

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board is expected to decide today on contracts for state-owned casinos in Cherokee and Sumner counties.

Though Penn National Gaming has the only proposed contract in Cherokee County, it is competing with two other companies for the contract in Sumner County. The company is promoting a “southern strategy,” stating that if it doesn’t receive approval for its contract in Sumner County, it likely will not build the casino in Cherokee County.

“Penn National is committed to investing $615 million in the state of Kansas” in both casinos, Steve Snyder, a senior vice president for Penn National, told the board on Thursday.

Company officials have said having both casinos would create “synergies” and branding loyalty that would increase revenue for the state.

William Eadington, a consultant for the review board, said he doubted there would be any benefit to the state from such a strategy.

“I do not place much credence in the southern strategy,” Eadington said. He said having two operations in a region creates economies of scale. He said that helps on the cost side but doesn’t affect revenues.

“It’s probably overstated as presented by Penn,” he said.

In Cherokee County, Penn National already had scaled back its application from an initial project costing $295 million to an initial investment of $125 million. It would phase in the remaining $100 million investment required by the state over the next 12 years.

Penn National is faced with competition from Downstream Casino Resort, the $301 million project of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma. The casino opened July 5 just off Interstate 44 where Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri intersect.

Penn National is proposing to build its casino just north of there, in Cherokee County. It would have a casino with 900 electronic machines and 30 table games. It also would have a 225-seat buffet, a coffee and pastry shop, and an entertainment lounge and bar. It would employ about 510 workers in its first year of operation.

Eadington said Penn National’s location on the borders with Oklahoma and Missouri would draw visitors from those states.

“The irony is somebody built a casino across the street and took that option away,” he said.

Eadington said that if Penn National were to go forward in Cherokee County, it would benefit the state of Kansas, but he’s not sure if the company would benefit.