Kansas: State gambling back on track

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April 1, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Wed Apr 01, 2009, 10:50 PM CDT

The Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Lottery has restarted efforts to get state-owned casinos up and running in Wyandotte and Sumner counties.

The Lottery, which will own the actually gambling in casinos to be built and run by outside contractors, received three applications for the contract in each of the two counties by a 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline. State law allows one casino each in Wyandotte, Sumner and Ford counties and one in either Cherokee or Crawford county in southeast Kansas.

Applying Wednesday in Wyandotte County were Penn National Gaming Inc., of Wyomissing, Pa., and Golden Gaming Inc., of Las Vegas. Kansas Entertainment, a partnership of Kansas Speedway and Baltimore-based Cordish Co., filed its application Monday.

For Sumner County, applications were filed by Foxwoods Development Co., of St. Louis; Lakes Entertainment Inc., of Minnetonka, Minn.; and a partnership of Equity Ventures, of Topeka, and two former top officials of Las Vegas’ Mandalay Resort Group.

Restarting the process became necessary after developers selected for Wyandotte, Sumner and Cherokee counties withdrew last year because of the economy. So far, there are no applicants for Crawford or Cherokee counties, but construction has started on the Ford County casino.

“It’s always good to have competition. It helps us when it comes to negotiating the contracts to get a better deal for the state,” said Ed Van Petten, Lottery executive director.

The Lottery Commission will negotiate contracts and send as many as it wants to a review board. It will pick one applicant, subject to approval by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, which regulates the casinos. Van Petten said that could take six or seven months.

The Kansas Speedway partnership withdrew in December as it was about to get final approval for the Wyandotte County casino. It said then it would resubmit a proposal for a phased-in project overlooking the track’s No. 2 turn.

The proposal essentially is the same, with a $700 million Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with 3,000 slots, 100 tables and a 300-room hotel.

It also includes commitments for a second NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the track; building a road course in the infield; and hosting Grand-AM Rolex Sports Car races. Speedway president Jeff Boerger said the second NASCAR race alone would generate $118 million.

Penn National proposed a $500 million, Hollywood-themed project in two phases in Wyandotte County, at the intersection of Interstate 435 and Parallel Parkway. The first phase includes a casino with 2,000 slot machines and 58 table games plus a 250-room hotel.

Penn spokesman Eric Schippers said his company received a $1.4 billion settlement when a merger deal fell through last summer.

“That is real cash that puts us in a strong position to look for new opportunities including Kansas,” he said.

Penn had previously applied in Sumner County but was turned down in favor of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., of Las Vegas, which pulled out in November. Penn had also been the only applicant in Crawford or Cherokee counties, but pulled out in September because of competition from a nearby Oklahoma tribal casino.

Golden Gaming wants to locate south of I-70 near Kansas Speedway with a phased-in, $662 million project that starts with a casino with 2,000 slots and 65 tables plus resaturants and bars, followed by a 300-room hotel and a Tom Watson golf course.

“Despite the economic downtown nationwide, we are impressed with the fundementals in the surrounding gaming market and believe our site offers the greatest potential to build a flagship property,” Golden spokesman Christopher Abraham said.

In Sumner County, all the hopefuls have their eyes on the Mulvane exit of the Kansas Turnpike in an area annexed by the city. However, the annexation is in litigation.

Lakes Entertainment included another location near Wellington, and Equity had an alternate location three miles east of the Mulvane exit.

Van Petten said the legal flap shouldn’t be a stumbling block.

“It’s just a matter of who does the endorsing, the city of Mulvane or the county,” he said.

Foxwoods and MGM Mirage had proposed a casino but withdrew last year after failing to agree on a contract agreement with the Lottery. This time, Foxwoods is going it alone.

“We believe sitting back down with the Lottery Commission, we will be able to resolve those differences this time around,” Foxwoods President Gary Armentrout said.

The proposed Chisholm Creek Casino Resort would be phased in with a $250 million casino with restaurants and bars, but no hotel. The casino would have 2,000 slots and 50 tables.

“The additional amenities will be added as the market warrants and as financing becomes available,” Armentrout said.

Equity, which was Harrah’s partner, is proposing the Prairie Sky Casino in a partnership with Mike Ensign, former Mandalay CEO and president, and Peter Simon, its executive vice president. Ensign negotiated the sale of Mandalay to MGM Mirage in 2005.

Nancy Seitz, Equity spokeswoman, said details of the proposal would be released later.

Lakes Entertainment manages tribal casinos in Oklahoma, Indiana and California. Calls to its offices weren’t returned Wednesday.

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Kansas: State gambling back on track

Would you be in favor of a constitutional amendment that would allow a Missouri legislator to serve up to 16 years in either the state House or Senate?

Would you be in favor of a constitutional amendment that would allow a Missouri legislator to serve up to 16 years in either the state House or Senate?

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