Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ handpicked gambling “czar” declined Friday to give odds on whether the Kansas Supreme Court will accept the new casino law.

“I have no idea what the Kansas Supreme Court is going to do,” said Chief Gaming Officer Robert Krehbiel.

Krehbiel, a longtime oil and gas attorney, said the majority of attorneys he talks to believe the court will declare the new law constitutional.

But, he added, “that majority may not be on the Kansas Supreme Court.”

Meanwhile, he said, investors are pouring millions of dollars into plans to build casinos in Kansas.

“We may end up looking pretty foolish,” if the court declares the law unconstitutional, he told the Gaming Oversight Panel.

In dispute is the law enacted by the Legislature this year that allows four state-owned and operated resort casinos, plus slot machines at horse and dog tracks.

In 1986, voters approved a state constitutional change that allowed the state to operate a lottery. In 1994, the Supreme Court ruled the term “lottery” could cover slot machines and other casino games.

But in a challenge set up for the new law, the attorney general’s office alleges that the state, through the Kansas Lottery, would be regulating the casinos, not owning them as required by the Constitution.

The case is now before a state district judge, who has promised to rule by February. It is likely that decision will be appealed by the losing side to the state Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the state and gambling investors are planning as if the law will be upheld in court.

Stephen Martino, executive director of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, outlined massive rule changes and additional hirings that have been made to prepare for the casinos and slots.

The commission has approximately 40 employees but will have about 130 when fully staffed to license and regulate the casinos, he said.

“We don’t intend to spare a position that we think is essential” to maintain the security and integrity of the games, Martino said. He said the gambling industry will be paying the costs of regulation.

Slot machines could be in use at The Woodlands horse and dog track in Kansas City, Kan., as early as May, officials said.

The resort casinos will take years to get in operation, they said. But Martino said there is nothing in the new law that would prevent casino developers chosen by the state to set up temporary casinos while the permanent ones are built.

The law allows casinos in Wyandotte, Sumner and Ford counties, and either Cherokee or Crawford counties.