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Published July 06, 2008 09:40 pm - COLUMBUS, Kan. — The Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board on Wednesday will hear from representatives with Penn National Gaming about its plans for a casino in Cherokee County. The board also will listen to residents who want to speak about the proposal. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Columbus Community Building, 320 E. Maple St. The board has set aside 90 minutes to hear from residents. Gaming officials will hear from Penn National; local residents may speak By Roger McKinney rmckinney@joplinglobe.com COLUMBUS, Kan. — The Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board on Wednesday will hear from representatives with Penn National Gaming about its plans for a casino in Cherokee County. The board also will listen to residents who want to speak about the proposal. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Columbus Community Building, 320 E. Maple St. The board has set aside 90 minutes to hear from residents. That time can be extended. The public comment period will begin either immediately after a lunch break or after the final presentation by the prospective casino manager. People may sign up to speak beginning at 8:30 a.m. The Kansas Lottery Commission in May approved a tentative contract with Penn National Gaming for a state-owned casino in Cherokee County, about a mile north of the Interstate 44 exit to Baxter Springs and Galena. The company has paid its $25 million privilege fee to the state. The tentative contract between the state and Penn National allows it to phase in its required $225 million investment over a period of years. The initial $125 million investment would include a casino, buffet, coffee shop, gift shop and an entertainment lounge and bar. The casino is expected to open in May 2010. The company would be required to invest another $100 million over the next several years. That could include a hotel, an event center, a casino expansion, more restaurants, retail shops, a car museum and a spa and fitness center. The proposal calls for the company to employ 510 people in the first year of operation and 600 in subsequent years. Penn’s original application called for a $295 million casino and hotel to be built at the same time. Richard Klemp, Penn National’s vice president for government relations, has said Downstream Casino Resort, the $301 million casino and hotel project of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, forced the company to rethink its plan. The tribal casino opened Saturday, with the hotel scheduled to open in the fall. In the three other zones specified in Kansas for gaming, the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board must decide the best plan from among competing proposals. In the Southeast zone, which includes Cherokee and Crawford counties, Penn National submitted the only proposal. The board will determine if the phased-in investment is allowed under the state law. That board’s task should be made easier after the Kansas Attorney General issued an opinion last week that a phased-in investment is allowed 
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