Web posted
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Casino hearings this week in Wyandotte
By CARL MANNING
Associated Press Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ A board picking managers for four state-owned casinos plans to finish a series of public hearings around Kansas with three days of meetings starting Wednesday in Wyandotte County.
The Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board will hear from applicants on Wednesday and Thursday at the Kansas City Community College Theater and from the public on Friday.
A gambling law enacted last year allows one casino each in Cherokee, Ford, Sumner and Wyandotte counties. A developer will build each casino and manage it for the Kansas Lottery under a 15-year contract.
Already, the board has had public hearings for three applicants in Sumner County, one in Cherokee County and two in Ford County. The developers must make a minimum $225 million investment in all except Ford County, where it's $50 million.
The state hopes to get $200 million a year from its share of gambling proceeds.
Board Chairman Matt All said the hearings have been time-consuming but they've given applicants, local government officials and citizens a chance to say what's on their minds.
"It gives us more texture and details to our understanding of the proposals," All said. "It is one thing to read it on paper and another to hear it from the people involved. We need both."
Gambling revenue estimates are important, he said, but the board also is looking at what else will be offered, such as restaurants, bars and convention centers.
"Fundamentally, they are casinos, but they are destinations, so we want amenities that will draw people from the outside," All said.
The four applicants in Wyandotte County, all with sites near Kansas Speedway, are Golden Heartland Casino; Kansas Entertainment, Legends Sun and Pinnacle Kansas.
A fifth applicant, Las Vegas Sands Corp., dropped out last month, citing increased borrowing costs and prospects that Missouri voters may repeal a law limiting gamblers to losing $500 every two hours.
Heartland estimates first-year gambling revenues of $239.3 million; Kansas Entertainment, $349.4 million; Legends Sun, $271 million, and Pinnacle, $361.3 million. The state gets a minimum of 22 percent of the revenues and in some cases up to 28 percent based on revenue levels.
The board will hear from its consultants Sept. 2 and 3, receiving revenue estimates for Wyandotte and Ford counties.
The applicants for the Ford County facility in Dodge City are Butler National Service Corp., which projected first-year gambling revenues of $66.7 million, and Dodge City Casino Resort, which projects $44.6 million.
The board will pick managers for the casinos in Wyandotte and Ford counties Sept. 18 and 19.
Last month, the board conducted hearings in Sumner and Cherokee counties and then met with its consultants and the applicants. It will pick the mangers for those counties Aug. 22.
Its consultants' estimates for Sumner and Cherokee counties generally were lower than the applicants' projections.
In Sumner County, Harrah's Entertainment Inc., wants to build a casino at Mulvane and Marvel Gaming and Penn National Gaming Inc. want to locate near Wellington. In May, a partnership involving MGM Mirage Inc. and Foxwoods Development Co. dropped out.
Penn is the sole applicant in Cherokee County and says if it doesn't get the Sumner County contract, it may not move forward in Cherokee County. It would face competition from a nearby $300 million tribal casino opened July 5 by the Quapaw Nation.
All said after the three previous hearings the board requested additional information from all applicants, including financial details.
"It's really important for us to be clear about the finances and we have asked for additional information to back up all sorts of claims," All said. "The worst thing would be if they promise something and can't deliver it. Everyone would be disappointed, and the state wouldn't get what it bargained for."
Once the applicants are selected, they must pass a background check by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.
The law says the Lottery owns the gambling and has the final word on operations, but the managers run the casinos day to day. Kansas is among a dozen states with commercial casinos but the only one with state-owned facilities.
___
On the Net:
Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission: http://www.ksracing.org
|
