Legislative proposals designed to bring slots to Kan. tracks, clear obstacle to 1 casino

Proposals designed to expand gambling in Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. — Supporters of expanded gambling in Kansas hoped Thursday that the promise of new revenues for the state would overcome legislators’ reluctance to tinker with an existing law allowing casinos and slot machines at racetracks.

Separate but identical bills in the House and Senate are designed to resolve issues keeping a developer from building a casino in southeast Kansas or track owners from installing slots. Backers believe the changes could generate $40 million for the state within a year.

The House Appropriations Committee introduced a bill Thursday, a day after the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee filed its own. The Senate committee plans to have a hearing next week.

Each bill would rewrite a 2007 law allowing one casino in each of four areas and slot machines at racetracks in Kansas City, Wichita and southeast Kansas. Track owners and others have argued flaws in the law prevented as full of an expansion of gambling as intended.

“It’s long overdue,” said Rep. Julie Menghini, a Pittsburg Democrat. “I’m excited about it. I think it’s a great way to keep revenue in our state and, hopefully, bring revenue into our state.”

Supporters of expanded gambling wanted to rewrite the law last year, but top House and Senate leaders, all Republicans, didn’t want to reopen the often-difficult debate over gambling.

Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican, and Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, an Independence Republican, didn’t rule out having a gambling debate this year.

“At some point, we probably need to pass at least a few minor changes,” Morris said.

But opposition is stronger from the House’s more conservative GOP leaders.

History is one reason. In 2007, GOP moderates and Democrats rammed a gambling bill through the Legislature in less than a week, blocking any attempts to amend it, despite warnings from House conservatives that it was flawed.

“They got the deal they wanted,” said House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican. “They can live with the deal they got.”

The 2007 law says the tracks can operate slots and developers can build and operate casinos under contracts with the Kansas Lottery. The lottery owns the rights to the gambling and the gambling equipment, down to the dice and cards.

But the lottery doesn’t have any prospective developers for a casino permitted in either Crawford or Cherokee county. The 2007 law requires a developer to invest $225 million in the venture and pay a $25 million fee up front.

Both bills would require a $100 million investment and an $11 million fee to the state.

The lottery also hasn’t been able to agree on a contract with the owners of The Woodlands dog- and horse-racing park in Kansas City or Camptown Greyhound Park, near Pittsburg. The owners say their share of the net revenues — capped at 40 percent — is too small for slots to be profitable.

Both bills would give the track owners 58 percent.

Voters in Sedgwick County rejected slots at Wichita Greyhound Park in August 2007, and both bills would allow another attempt, if 5,000 registered voters signed petitions.

Also, both measures would permit slots at two racetracks with only short summer seasons, Anthony Downs in Harper County and Eureka Downs in Greenwood County. Neither could have slots under the 2007 law.