The Kansas City area’s four riverboat casinos posted a combined 1.5 increase in December revenue and a 5.4 increase in customers compared with the same month a year earlier. The Kansas City market reported combined December revenue of USD 58.6 million, up from USD 57.8 million in December 2007, according to statistics the Missouri Gaming Commission released Monday.

Kansas City, Kansas (Reuters) – Developers of a USD 705 million hotel, casino and entertainment complex have pulled out of a deal with the state of Kansas, blaming a rocky economy for the need to revise the project. The joint venture of an International Speedway Corp unit and Cordish Co cited „an unprecedented crisis and disruption in the global financial and economic markets“ in pulling out. The group asked the state to refund USD 25 million in fees paid after the developers won the right to develop and operate the state-owned casino…

If Proposition A fails at the polls next week, Kansas City gamblers can only hope Missouri casino regulators are paying attention to a controversy brewing in northwest Iowa. Lyon County voters recently approved plans for a USD 90 million casino near the rural community of Larchwood, a stone’s throw from the South Dakota border. The project is not a done deal, however, and a handful of commercial and tribal casino operators in the region are starting to worry that this new competitor…

Down, sharply. That’s where the U.S. economic outlook and Kansas City’s riverboat gambling market headed in September. Local boats’ [[USD]] 54.5 million month was their smallest haul since early 2005. With a nationwide credit meltdown triggering layoffs and Wall Street panic, American consumers, including gamblers, are tightening their belts. “I can’t think of a time in my responsible adult life that I’ve seen economic conditions look more frightening than they look now,” said Tom Cook…

Kansas’ 12-year-old legal challenge to the 7th Street Casino in Kansas City, Kan., has been dismissed by a federal judge on a technicality – again. This time, however, the case may finally be over, clearing the way for the tribal casino to upgrade its games and possibly expand. “This case is moot,” U.S. District Judge Richard D. Rogers said in a 23-page decision made public Thursday.

The Kansas City area’s four riverboat casinos recorded slightly higher combined revenue but a lower customer count for July compared with last year, the Missouri Gaming Commission said Monday. The Kansas City market recorded USD 62.1 million in July revenue, up less than 1 percent from USD 62 million last year. The market’s combined customer count was 926,870, down 2.3 percent from 947,976 last year.

The pint-sized 7th Street Casino in downtown Kansas City, Kan., could thwart a metrowide effort to ban smoking on casino floors. Here’s why: Bans approved by Kansas City voters in April and the North Kansas City Council on Tuesday evening don’t take effect until “all” surrounding casinos also are covered by similar laws. The language in the two city-approved ordinances appears to cover the tribal 7th Street Casino owned by the Oklahoma-based Wyandotte Nation.

About 25 people took part in a brawl at the VooDoo Lounge in Harrah’s Casino in North Kansas City, it was reported today. The incident began as police officers attempted to arrest a number of suspects at the casino’s lounge, but the suspects fought back. Two police officers were called by the casino management to quell a previous disturbance, but the officers were attacked while they were trying to deal with a woman who had been involved in the dispute, North Kansas City Sgt. John Stark told the press.

The Kansas City area’s four riverboat casinos’ combined revenue and customer counts decreased in March compared with the same month last year, according to statistics of the Missouri Gaming Commission. Only Argosy Casino in Riverside bested its year-ago figures. The Kansas City market as a whole reported March revenue of USD 65 million, down 3 percent from USD 66.9 million last year. The four casinos combined reported 913,020 customers, down 8 percent from 989,913 last year.