Kansas Advances All Ten Casino License Applications
The Kansas Lottery Comission met this morning to review ten applications for three casino licenses to be awarded, and narrowed the field to... ten.
The ten applicants consist of two groups seeking the Ford County contract, three applying for the license in Sumner County, and five applicants for the casino in Wyandotte County. The Comission was to look over each potential project, then send the approved propoals to a review board, which will select the final winer in each county.
However, this morning's meeting did little to change the situation, as every submitted proposal was advanced to the review board.
There was a change in applicants yesterday, as the partnership formed by MGM Mirage and Foxwoods withdrew its proposal for Sumner County, citing conflicts in negotiations with the Lottery Commission. This left Harrah's Entertainment, Penn National Gaming, and Marvel Gaming as the three remaining companies seeking the Sumner casino rights.
Other than the voluntary withdrawal, the Lottery Commission seemed happy to rubber-stamp the set of applications, leaving the process of narrowing the field to the seven-member review board.
Such inaction has been the name of the game in Kansas, where the wheels have moved slowly indeed. Legal challenges from several directions have proved distracting, but there is also the sense that the Kansas officials running the process prefer to let it drag on.
Perhaps the time being taken is just to be sure due diligence is completed. Still, one would hope the negotiations are kept transparent, and citizens and media all keep watchful eyes on this process; backroom and under-the-table bargains have no place in the awarding of these licenses.
