Topeka, Kansas (AP) - The same week Harrah's Entertainment Inc. is being considered for a contract to manage a Kansas-owned casino in Sumner County, it has been sued by an Indian tribe whose casino it managed for a decade. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation filed the lawsuit against Harrah's, alleging the company violated a noncompete agreement with the tribe by seeking the contract for a proposed facility near Mulvane.
Topeka, Kansas (AP) -- The chairman of Kansas' casino review board says picking managers for state-owned casinos in Sumner and Cherokee counties won't be easy. Chairman Matt All said Friday that the seven-member board must consider more than projected revenue. He said other factors include debt, cash flow, financing in the current economic climate and what amenities would be offered.
Following the Kansas Supreme Court ruling, which will allows four casinos to be built in the state, Harrah’s Entertainment and Penn National Gaming pitched their plans for casinos in the Sumner County Thursday and Marvel Gaming Co. following on Friday. The two gambling giants faced the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board in a local school auditorium on Thursday to answer questions by the board.
Chicago (Reuters) - The Kansas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a gambling law allowing state-owned casinos and slot parlors is constitutional, upholding a previous ruling on the law. The case was filed in 2007 by former Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison on behalf of the state in an attempt to test the law's constitutionality and clear any potential legal hurdles. The ruling means plans for casinos and slots owned by the state can go forward.
The Kansas Supreme Court said today it will issue its ruling Friday on whether the state's expanded gambling law is constitutional. The law enacted last year allows four casinos that are owned and operated by the Kansas Lottery. A Shawnee County District Court judge upheld the statute in February. At issue, the Associated Press reported, is whether what the Legislature's definition of "state-owned and operated" casinos are that.
Topeka, Kansas - Four state-owned resort casinos and slot machines at race tracks could generate up to USD 739 million in annual revenue even if two Indian casinos operate near the border in Oklahoma, a study prepared for the Kansas Lottery concluded. The estimate assumes the Quapaw casino will operate south of Cherokee County and the Pawnee tribe will have a casino south of Arkansas City. Without the two casinos, the study said annual revenues could reach USD 811 million.
Wild Rose Entertainment LLC operates two small casinos in Iowa and last year became the Kansas City suburb’s preferred developer for a gambling complex on nearly 300 city-owned acres next to La Benite Park. After signing a development agreement with the city, Wild Rose last fall submitted a formal request for a license to the Missouri Gaming Commission, which voted 5-0 last month to seek other interested applicants for the area a few miles east of Harrah’s and Ameristar.
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is betting USD 81 million that the Kansas courts ultimately will approve the casino gambling law enacted by the Legislature last year. That’s how much gambling revenue she has put in her budget recommendation for fiscal year 2009, which begins July 1. The Democratic governor, who released details of her budget Tuesday, wants to spend the gambling revenue on debt reduction and construction projects.
The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma Indian Tribe will officially open the renovated Shriner’s Temple building, home of the 7th Street Casino, on Thursday. The day’s activities will include a media launch during the afternoon, followed by the official ribbon cutting at 6 p.m. in front of the casino’s 1920s-themed restaurant, Lucky’s Steak and Chophouse. The renovated casino will feature more than 400 Class II gaming machines spread out over two floors.
Wyandotte County’s Unified Board of Commissioners approved this week two planning and zoning applications from development teams vying to become the manager of a state-owned casino. The board upheld last month’s recommendations from the Unified Government’s Planning Commission. The board approved one proposal from the Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment and one from KS&F Development.
Penn National Gaming announced that it has filed a license application with the Kansas Lottery Commission to be considered as a Lottery Gaming Facility Manager at a proposed destination casino resort in Sumner County that the company has budgeted at USD 365 million. The second phase expansion will bring the total budget for the master-planned project to over USD 565 million.
Pinnacle Entertainment, the Las Vegas-based gaming and entertainment company, has proposed two locations for a destination resort and casino in Wyandotte County. Except for their locations, the proposals are nearly identical in architecture and amenities. Pinnacle’s first proposal is near the interchange of Interstate 435 and Parallel Parkway; the second proposal would be located at the future interchange at I-435 and Donahoo Road.
