Gambling challenge moving slowly / LJWorld.com

Archive for Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Deliberate approach may save time in the long run

May 15, 2007

Topeka — A planned court challenge to the state's new gambling law may take longer than expected.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius recommended last month that Attorney General Paul Morrison challenge the law to expedite a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that she hopes will clear the way for development of large-scale, resort casinos.

"We want investors to be confident," Sebelius said at the time.

But on Monday, Morrison said a lot of work remains before he will file a challenge with the court. And he said he didn't expect a court ruling on the matter for another nine months to one year.

"We're very, very sensitive to the fact that there are a lot of people waiting on this - a lot of investors or interested parties, and so we're working real hard," Morrison said.

He said he wants the law's operational regulations, which will be written by the Kansas Lottery, in place before he asks the court to rule on the issue's constitutionality.

"When that's done, then we'll file our action, and that will begin the process of the Kansas Supreme Court giving us a thumbs up or a thumbs down on that bill," he said.

Ed Van Petten, executive director of the lottery, said that approach may save time in the long run by producing decisions on the law and regulations at the same time, instead of opening the door to possibly two separate court challenges.

"In the grand scheme of things, it will probably speed things up," he said.

He said writing the casino regulations could take several months. He noted that under the law, the Kansas Lottery will start taking applications for casinos for 90 days after local option elections, the first of which will be next month.

The new law allows casino-resorts in Wyandotte County, south-central Kansas and southeastern Kansas, and a smaller casino operation in Ford County.

Under the bill, the casinos will be owned by the state and called "lottery gaming facilities." The Kansas Constitution allows only a state-owned lottery.

There are four American Indian tribal casinos in northeast Kansas that were established in the 1990s under compacts with the state, although the state collects no revenue from the operations.

Two of those tribes - the Kickapoo and Sac & Fox - have announced they will bid on building a casino in Wyandotte County. They own 80 acres near the Kansas Speedway and The Woodlands horse and dog track - about a half-hour's drive from Lawrence.

But the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, which owns the largest casino in Kansas - Harrah's Prairie Band Casino in Mayetta - has said it probably would file a lawsuit seeking to block the legislation.