Topeka ? After a day of questioning applicants, a state review board planned to vote today on which companies will manage state-owned casinos in Cherokee and Sumner counties.

On Thursday, the seven-member Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board questioned three applicants vying for the Sumner County contract – Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., Penn National Gaming Inc. and Marvel Gaming. Penn is the sole applicant for Cherokee County.

Harrah’s casino would be in Mulvane, while Penn and Marvel have staked out locations near Wellington.

Board chairman Matt All said he wouldn’t be surprised by votes that weren’t unanimous on the final selections. Kansas law requires the board to consider which contract will bring the state the most revenue, best promote tourism and be in the best interest of the state, he said.

“We have to follow the law, and following the law, and doing what the law requires us to do, is different from doing what we want to do,” All said. “We may want to vote for a particular facility, but the law requires us to vote for another, or we may want to vote for a particular casino but the law requires us to send it back for more negotiations.”

The board has the option of rejecting all applicants and sending their proposed contracts back to the Kansas Lottery for more negotiations. The Lottery will own the new casinos.

Any applicant selected by the review board would still undergo a background check by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.

The review board votes Sept. 18 and 19 on four applicants for Wyandotte County and two for Ford County.

Much of Thursday’s discussions focused on how each applicant would finance its project. All three applicants said they had the financial ability to build and operate the casino over the life of the 15-year contract, and the board’s consultants agreed.

According to Lottery officials, Harrah’s said earlier that it wanted to change the contract it signed in May to remove about $50 million in proposed retail facilities.

Dan Biles, the Lottery’s attorney, said the idea was rejected because it wouldn’t be fair to the other applicants.