The big Kansas experiment with state-owned casinos officially began this week when the Boot Hill Casino and Resort opened its doors in Dodge City.

Casino proposals are struggling to get off the ground in the other three locations approved by the state, but Dodge City is off and running with 584 slot machines and 12 gaming tables along with a bar, restaurant and snack bar. A 124-room hotel is slated to be completed at the site by 2012.

Even when it’s completed, Boot Hill will be a relatively small complex, but it’s a big experiment for the state. Kansas is the only state in the nation to operate state-owned casinos. The facilities are developed and managed by private companies, but the Kansas Lottery owns the games and the gambling equipment and the state will share in the gambling receipts.

Butler National Corp. of Olathe, which developed the Dodge City casino, estimated the facility will generate about $44 million in net revenues next year. The state’s share of that would be about $10 million. In addition to that revenue, the casino complex already has created 286 jobs and is expected to employ 600 people when it is complete.

Many Kansans may not be excited about the expansion of casino gambling in the state, but in the current economy, it’s hard to argue with any enterprise that adds $10 million to state coffers and creates hundreds of jobs. Of course, some of the profit also is required to be set aside to address expected cases of problem gambling, and mental health programs in Dodge City are gearing up to provide that service. If they have experienced cuts anything like those imposed on Lawrence’s Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, about any new source of income, even to treat gambling problems, probably is welcome.

Less than a week into this new venture, it’s hard to tell whether casino jobs and revenue will live up to expectations, especially over the long haul. The $10 million in projected state revenue for next year will be swallowed up in no time by the struggling state budget, but it will be barely a drop in the bucket compared to what the state needs.

Casino revenue will be a nice addition, but the state hasn’t exactly hit the jackpot. It will be interesting to see in the years to come whether the benefits of casino jobs and income will outweigh the social problems created by expanded gambling.