Cordish Pulls Back On Remarks Regarding Casino Smoking Ban

Kansas City, Kansas is the latest place where smoking may become illegal in public places. If the ban goes into effect, the state is risking losing a casino that is going to be built at the Kansas Speedway. That was according to Jeff Boerger, Speedway President.

Cordish Co. quickly backed off of those statements, however. "We're excited about being involved in the community. we have committed a lot of time and resources into the project and we're working hard on it,' said Cordish Principal Joe Weinberg.

Cordish and the Speedway's parent company, International Speedway Corp. have partnered to bring a casino to Kansas Speedway. They received the right to operate the casino last month by state officials.

The original smoking ban that was being discussed by Unified Government Commissioners was going to exclude casino floors from the ban. Four of the officials did not want the exclusion, and pushed for the smoking ban to be everywhere inside public places.

If the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino partners are going to decide to pull out of the project, they will have to do so relatively soon. They are due to get the final approval of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission by the end of the year.

Once that contract is signed, there will be no way that the partners can pull out of the deal without losing their $25 million privilege fee that has already been paid.

October 18, 2008
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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