Kansas Casino Adventures Continue as Gambling Operator Withdraws
In the months and years that have passed since Kansas began speculating about the potential revenue licensed casino gambling could bring, the state's attempts to establish a string of casinos has been a series of mishaps, failures, and aborted moves. The latest development is the withdrawal of Lakes Entertainment from the casino application process.Lakes officials say they will join with Chisholm Creek Casino Resort to file a unified application to operate a casino in Sumner County. The projected casino would host as many as 1500 slot machines, along with restaurants and a hotel to be developed by third parties.
Lakes Entertainment is noted for running several tribal casinos, for a number of different tribes. Company spokesmen did not specify why the corporation dropped its initial plan to be a sole operator of the proposed gambling venue.
Kansas lottery officials prepared to take applications almost two years ago for four highly desired gaming locations, to be owned by the state but operated by private bidders. But the application process bogged down to the speed of molasses pouring, as just narrowing the field to ten applicants took almost a year for lottery authorities.
As the recession deepened, other factors also came into play, making the Kansas casinos less attractive to gaming companies. New tribal casinos were planned, built, and began operations on the Kansas border with Oklahoma while Kansas regulators considered bids.
Established gambling companies such as Las Vegas Sands found themselves short on cash and looking at declining predictions for Kansas casino revenues. Penn National Gaming withdrew even a successful application, deciding the state's economic picture no longer validated pursuing the project.
There are certainly many folks in Kansas who may be hoping that the Lakes move to partner with Chisholm rather than compete may be the last disappointment in the gaming sector for a while.
