The Kansas Lottery Commission recently changed the application deadline from December 19, 2014 to January 30, 2015 for prospective casino operators for the Southeast Kansas Gaming Zone, which includes Crawford and Cherokee counties. Executive Director Terry Presta said, “In an effort to give the recently appointed review board members ample time to come up to speed on their important duties, the lottery and the lottery commission thought it prudent to move the application date at this time.”
Three developers have come forward to date. In Crawford Count, Wichita billionaire Phil Ruffin and the Quapaw Tribe-Downstream group would open a casino in the former Camptown Greyhound Park in Frontenac, and the Southeast Kansas Casino Group would build a casino in Pittsburg. In Cherokee County, Castle Rock Casino Resorts would build a casino near Interstate 44 and U.S. Highway 400, close to the Downstream’s Oklahoma casino resort.
In July, Kansas announced it would take bids for a state-owned casino in the southeast zone. Following the January 30 deadline, the lottery will have up to 90 days to negotiate contracts with qualified applicants. The lottery will then forward the contracts to the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board, which will have up to 60 days to select the successful contract. Then the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission will complete a background investigation on the applicant.
