Topeka ? Ten proposals to manage three state-owned casinos were endorsed Tuesday by the Kansas Lottery Commission and forwarded to a review board that will make the final selections.

Developers of an 11th proposal dropped out of the competition to operate a casino in Sumner County, and the commission rejected a second proposal offered by Penn National Gaming Inc. for the same county.

The commission endorsed proposed contracts for two projects in Ford County, three in Sumner County and five in Wyandotte County. Earlier this month, it endorsed a contract with Penn National as the sole bidder for a Cherokee County casino.

“We’re not done yet, but this is a big step,” Keith Kocher, Lottery director of gaming, told the commission.

The next step for the creation of resort casinos under last year’s expanded gambling law will be scrutiny by the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board. It will conduct its own study with its consultants and staff and have public hearings.

The review board will pick the managers for the Cherokee and Sumner casinos on Aug. 21-22 and the Ford and Wyandotte casinos on Sept. 18-19. All must pass a background check by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.

Dropping out of the running was a partnership of MGM Mirage Inc., of Las Vegas, and Foxwoods Development Co., of St. Louis, for a casino at Mulvane. Its statement said only that negotiations didn’t result in a contract they were willing to sign.

That decision left three proposals endorsed by the commission for Sumner County – Harrah’s Entertainment in Mulvane, and Marvel Gaming and Penn National at Wellington.

Also approved were five developers who want to operate the casino in Wyandotte County, all near or at Kansas Speedway: Golden Gaming Inc.; Kansas Entertainment Inc.; Pinnacle Entertainment; Legends Sun; and Sands Kansas.

Two developers for Ford County – Dodge City Resort and Gaming Co., and Butler National Service Corp. – also advanced to the review board.