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.

Equity Ventures has a partnership with two former top officials of Mandalay Resort Group for a state-owned casino in south-central Kansas. Equity spokeswoman Nancy Seitz says the Topeka firm and its partners will file an application for the Sumner County casino with the Kansas Lottery before the 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline. The partners are Mike Ensign, former CEO of Mandalay, and Peter Simon, a senior vice president.

Topeka, Kansas (AP) -- There's renewed interest in building a state-owned casino in Sumner County, Kan., nearly four months after Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment Inc., pulled out. Equity Ventures of Topeka, which had been an investment partner with Harrah's, will submit two applications for a resort casino near Mulvane, spokeswoman Nancy Seitz said.

If no applicants emerge by January 21 to manage a state-owned casino in southeast Kansas, the deadline will be extended to April 21.The Kansas Lottery Commission agreed Wednesday to the extension. “Right now we have no applicants,” spokeswoman Sally Lunsford. In a failed first round of bidding last year, Penn National, which owns Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa in Riverside and other US casinos, was the lone bidder for the designated gambling zone in the state’s southeast corner.

Workers at Ameristar Kansas City Casino and Hotel who are smokers must step outside for a puff. When their break is over, many must return to duty on the gaming floor - where gamblers are permitted to light up but the workers can’t while they’re on the job. “We used to have a smoking area inside for our team members, but they can’t anymore because the city ordinance prohibits that,” said Ameristar spokeswoman Roxanne Kincaid.

Harrah’s Gaming says it won’t build its planned USD 500 million casino and resort near Mulvane, the Kansas Lottery said Monday. In a news release, the lottery says a representative from the casino development company informed the agency of its decision this afternoon in a letter. Jeffrey Ungerer, of Sumner Gaming Joint Venture, wrote: “We truly regret that we must withdraw our gaming application as a result of circumstances beyond our control that do not permit us to meet the proposed schedule for the project.

Topeka, Kansas (AP) -- Southeast Kansas once again is an open territory for a state-owned casino. The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to reject Penn National Gaming Inc.'s contract to manage a casino in Cherokee County. The vote was a formality because Penn two weeks ago walked away from the contract, saying it couldn't compete with a nearby tribal casino in Oklahoma.

Columbus, Kansas - The Cherokee County commissioners on Monday met behind closed doors with their attorney for casino issues to discuss possible action if Penn National Gaming withdraws from its contract for a state-owned casino in the county. The Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board on Aug. 22 approved Penn National’s contract for the Cherokee County casino, but the board also went with a proposal by Harrah’s Entertainment for a casino in Sumner County.

Topeka, Kansas (AP) - A judge was told Aug. 29 that blocking Harrah's Entertainment Inc. from going forward with plans to build and manage a state-owned casino in Sumner County could doom the project. But lawyers for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation argued that Harrah's involvement in the south-central Kansas project would violate a noncompete agreement the company signed with the tribe in January.

Last week, Penn National Gaming lost out to Harrah’s Entertainment in Sumner County for a casino contract with the state of Kansas. Penn was granted the contract to build in Cherokee County, but the company has said if it didn’t get both counties, it might pull out altogether. But now, a northeast Kansas Indian tribe is asking a judge to block Harrah’s plans, saying it’s violating a non-compete agreement signed in January.

Kansas City (Reuters) - Kansas gaming officials have awarded two contracts for development of state-owned casinos as the first in a series of such projects the Kansas officials hope will ultimately bring in at least USD 200 million annually. The Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board awarded 15-year contracts to privately held Harrah's Entertainment Inc and Penn National Gaming Inc to construct and manage casinos that will be owned and operated by Kansas, the first U.S. state to do so.

The wait is almost over. The Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board on Friday is set to select a manager to operate a large casino in Sumner County under the state's new expanded gambling law. The board is meeting Thursday and Friday to finalize its decision. It also will select a manager for the southeast "gaming zone," which includes Cherokee and Crawford counties.