Kansas Casino Adventure Becoming A Mess After Cordish Drops Out

The Kansas Lottery thought that they were making a good decision when they took their time in reviewing applications to run their state owned casinos. It now appears that decision to stall is going to cost the state dearly.

The Cordish Co. and Kansas Speedway Development Corp. formed Kansas Entertainment LLC to bid on the contract for Kansas Speedway. The joint venture, however, decided on Friday that they will not be following through on their promise to bring a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to the Speedway.

They did leave the option open to reconsider their position when the bid again came up, but for now they have filed the paperwork to receive a refund of the $25 million privilege fee they paid last year.

"We recognize that the potential phasing we now require is not permitted within our existing agreement. We remain fully committed to the opportunity to bring a first-class casino development to the state and Wyandotte County, along with seeking the realignment of a second NASCAR Sprint Cup race and the construction of a road course at the Kansas Speedway," wrote Joseph Weinberg, Kansas Entertainment executive.

Although the company claims to be committed to following through on their plans with a new contract, the fact that they have pulled out does not look good for the state of Kansas.

Kansas Entertainment has now become the third company to pull out of casino deals in the state. Sumner Entertainment pulled out because of the economy, and Penn National pulled out because of their fear that their product was not good enough to compete with a neighboring casino.

December 8, 2008
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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