Topeka ? Awarding contracts for state-owned casinos in Sumner and Cherokee counties won’t be easy after the state review board received a wealth of information about applicants, the board’s chairman said Friday.

“It’s going to be a balancing act with a number of factors. There are advantages and disadvantages with each proposal, and we’ll have to weigh those,” said Matt All, chairman of the seven-member Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board.

The board spent two days hearing from their consultants and the applicants. The board will finish its work on Aug. 21 and vote Aug. 22 on who gets the single 15-year contract in each county.

In Sumner County, the applicants are Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., Marvel Gaming and Penn National Gaming Inc. Penn is the only applicant in Cherokee County.

“The bottom line is: What do the financial numbers say about their proposals, and what risks would we take going with one or the other?” All said.

The board faces the same issues Sept. 2-3, when it considers four applicants for Wyandotte County and two for Ford County. It will award those contracts on Sept. 18-19.

The successful applicants also must pass a Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission background check, which could take a couple of months.

The expanded gambling law enacted last year requires casino managers to make a minimum $225 million investment in all areas except Ford County, where it’s $50 million. Penn would spend $225 million in Cherokee County, but all applicants in Sumner would spend far more than that.

“We want to make sure the developers can follow through on their promises,” All said. “Those promises only are as good as the dollars behind them.”

The state hopes to get $200 million a year from its share of gambling proceeds. The law requires the board to consider which applicant will bring the state the most revenue and do the best job to promote tourism.