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She hopes to bring some money to Cowley

By DAVID A. SEATON
Traveler Staff Writer

When the expanded gambling bill passed the Senate Thursday, there was an odd name on the list of "Yes' votes.

Sen. Greta Goodwin, D-Winfield, approved the building of new, state-owned casinos despite being a longtime critic of using gaming to propel state and local economies.

Goodwin, in an interview Friday, said she approved the measure because it has tight limits. She also said that next week, she and other legislators will push a trailer bill to SB 66 that will require 1 percent of gaming revenues from a casino in Sedgwick County be given to all six counties that border it.

That would mean $437,000 per year for Cowley County once a casino gets up and running, based on revenue projections. From slots at racetracks, the county could see $130,000 a year starting very soon.

"If I did not see anything that would improve my district, and had all of the regulations that this bill has to make sure we don't have a lot of casinos sprinkled throughout the state, I would have never voted for this," Goodwin said.

The legislation allows a limited number of casinos in four sections of the state and places a moratorium on any new casinos for 25 years, Goodwin said. South central Kansas will likely see just one casino, she said, somewhere in or near Wichita. It is very unlikely a casino will be built in Sumner County, she said.

Two percent of gaming revenues will go to help problem gambling and addiction.

Also, a developer must invest $225 million into a casino and pay a $25 million franchise fee up front, Goodwin said.

Also, the bill extends the Kansas Lottery, which would have expired this summer without legislative renewal.

These things persuaded her to vote for the bill, Goodwin said. With a 21-19 vote, Goodwin's may have been the swing vote. She said she did not get pressured by Gov. Sebelius, who supports it, nor by other legislators. The House already approved the bill and Sebelius is likely to sign it.

Goodwin said she is bothered by the probable increase in social ills caused by more gambling. But she added that expanded gambling was coming to Kansas sooner or later because of the clamor for it, and that this bill, with its controls, seemed like a good one.

"I have always felt it will pass some day, some year," she said. "I guess I saw this as an opportunity for me to put some money into our county and I think we need it."

Cowley County Administrator Leroy Alsup thinks so.

He said Friday that he's confident the County Commission would be pleased to hear of the revenue-sharing plan Goodwin is pursuing.

Gambling in Sedgwick County means Cowley County will likely lose sales with fewer people driving through Cowley to get to the Indian casinos in Oklahoma, Alsup said.

Commissioners will have to decide how to spend the money, if it comes, but Alsup said he guessed it would be used to fund projects related to the Vision 20/20 plan that residents have asked for, such as combating drug use and crime. It could also be used to reduce property taxes, he added.

"We would be very supportive of what Senator Goodwin is doing," Alsup said. "You have to realize that casinos are a mixed situation."

They bring economic benefits but also cause social problems, he explained. This area, however, likely is already experiencing some social ills because of the casinos across the state line, he added.