Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Topeka challenging the National Indian Gaming Commission’s decision allowing the Quapaw Tribe in northeast Oklahoma to operate casino games on 124 acres across the state line in Kansas. The site, located next to the Quapaw’s Downstream casino in Oklahoma, currently is used as a parking lot. The tribe wants to build a million, 40,000 square foot addition offering table games that are illegal in Oklahoma.
Schmidt’s lawsuit says the tribe purchased the Kansas tract in 2006 strictly to be used for Downstream Casino parking. In 2011, the tribe applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to have the land placed into trust for non-gaming purposes, which occurred in 2012. But last December, the NIGC ruled the land qualified for casino gaming under a statutory exemption as land acquired in another state under the “last recognized reservation” clause of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Schmidt’s lawsuit asks the court to find the NIGC acted arbitrarily and exceeded its authority in determining the tribe could conduct gaming in Kansas. Schmidt also contends Kansas Governor Sam Brownback can veto the tribe’s casino plans. “We believe the tribe should be held to its word that the land would not be used for gaming, and the federal government should follow the law in allowing the state to have its voice heard on how the land will be used,” Schmidt said.
Quapaw Chairman John Berrey said he hoped the Downstream’s Kansas expansion would open later this year. He noted it would 162 new gaming machines and create 25 new full-time jobs.
Schmidt’s lawsuit comes as Kansas officials review three proposals for a state-owned casino in the state’s southeast gaming zone. Three bidders are left because SE Kansas Casino Partners LLC recently withdrew its application, the Kansas Lottery announced recently. The company had proposed a $140 million facility on U.S. 400 with a casino, hotels, equestrian center, concert venue, restaurants, lake and retail shops. In a letter, an official with SE Kansas Casino Partners said the company was unable to move forward, citing “the remaining time available” and the company’s “ongoing due diligence.”
The remaining proposals include: the $145 million Castle Rock Casino Resort in Cherokee County, to be located at Interstate 44 and U.S. 400, with a casino, hotel, restaurant and future entertainment arena; the $110 million Emerald City Casino Resort at the former Camptown Greyhound Park in Frontenac, operated by Wichita billionaire Phil Ruffin and the Quapaw Tribe’s Downstream Casino Resort; and the $62 million Kansas Crossing Casino south of Pittsburg with a casino, restaurant, hotel and event center.
Kansas has three privately built, state-owned casinos–Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City, Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane and Hollywood Casino in Kansas City, Kansas—all developed under a 2007 law allowing casinos in four specific regions. Developers were reluctant to build in the southeast section partly due to competition from the Downstream. However, legislators last year lowered the required casino investment from $250 million to $50 million.
Kansas Lottery has until April 30 to review the applications and negotiate contracts, which then will be forwarded to a seven-member independent Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board. That panel will have up to 50 days to select the winning contract.
