Gambling plan would include up to five casinos

? Up to five “world-class, destination casinos,” owned and operated by the state, could increase tourism and help keep Kansas dollars in the state, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Friday.

The governor’s plan, dubbed the Expanded Gaming Opportunity Act, includes up to 2,500 video lottery terminals at the state’s five pari-mutuel tracks and up to five video lottery machines at each of the 240 fraternal clubs in the state. The Kansas Lottery would oversee the machines.

“With first-rate lodging, dining, conference and entertainment facilities, these high-quality casinos will draw countless tourists — and their dollars — from across the region,” Sebelius said at a news conference.

The governor said one large, destination casino could be expected to bring in about $160 million a year, with the state’s share estimated at around $30 million. Video lottery terminals at the tracks could bring the state about $60 million, Sebelius said, and the terminals at the fraternal organizations would bring in an estimated $7 million a year.

While the state would own and operate the casinos, the governor’s plan does not call for any state investment. Private developers would build the casinos, she said, and a private management firm would be hired to run them.

The Kansas Constitution allows only the state or an Indian tribe to own a casino in Kansas. All four tribes with Kansas reservations already have casinos. Many advocates of expanded gambling think the state would reap more revenue from its own casino rather than a new tribal one.

Sebelius said state ownership gives the state more control of the operation and a more significant share of the gambling revenues.

She said several proposals already have been submitted for a casino in Wyandotte County, including one from the Sac and Fox tribe that is being negotiated separately and would not fall under the governor’s plan.

“The tribal proposal is the most detailed and interesting,” said Matt All, the governor’s chief counsel. “They have the financing and they’re ready to go. The governor takes that proposal very seriously.”