By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
GALENA, Kan. — The Kansas Lottery has rejected an application for a state-owned casino in Cherokee County, but a principal in the effort says the group might shoot the dice again.
Ozark Trail Gaming was notified by letter that its application was being rejected because it didn’t meet the state’s minimum requirements.
Bob Knight, former Wichita mayor who is a principal with Ozark Trail Gaming, said Tuesday that the group may try again in January.
“I’m not convinced that we can’t get it done,” he said in a phone interview.
The state letter noted that Ozark Trail provided no information in its application that it had access to the financial resources to support a casino and provided no evidence of experience with gambling operations, which is required by the law allowing state-owned casinos.
The rejection of the application means applications for a casino in the Southeast Gaming Zone will continue to be accepted until a Jan. 19 deadline. Ozark Trail is not prohibited from applying again.
The Ozark Trail Casino was planned for an area off Interstate 44 along Highway 166, near the Downstream Casino Resort in Oklahoma.
Knight said the difficulty was in securing the financing for the $225 million project. He said there would be a real opportunity if the Legislature would reduce the required minimum investment for the casino.
“That’s not good news,” said Cherokee County Commissioner Pat Collins when told of the application’s rejection.
“I wish them well in their endeavors,” he said. “I’m happy that they picked us. Perhaps they’ll have better luck next time.”
“I like the location,” Knight said. “There’s an awful lot going for it. But we’re very, very hard-pressed to make the $225 million work. If we can put this financial package together, everything else takes care of itself.”
Knight said the lack of experience with gambling cited by the state also was a formality. “It’s easy to rectify if we have a financing package in place,” he said.
“We haven’t given up, yet,” Knight said. “We still have things we want to try.”
Barone’s help
Former Wichita Mayor Bob Knight said former state Sen. Jim Barone, D-Frontenac, has done “a lot of the heavy lifting” for the Ozark Trail Casino proposal.
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State rejects application for Cherokee County casino
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