Again, no bids for southeast Kansas casino

For the second time this year, the state received no interest from developers for a large casino in southeast Kansas.

The Kansas Lottery Commission received no applications by its 5 p.m. deadline Tuesday. It has extended the deadline by 90 days, to July 20.

The commission also didn’t receive applications by a previous deadline in January.

The state’s southeast Kansas “gaming zone” — made up of Crawford and Cherokee counties — has been a hard sell for developers since Penn National Gaming withdrew its casino proposal last year in Cherokee County.

Southeast Kansas is one of four areas in which casinos would be allowed to be constructed under a 2007 state law that expanded gambling in Kansas. One casino is under construction in Dodge City, and several proposals are under consideration in Sumner and Wyandotte counties.