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Kansas Casinos Should Learn from Racetracks

KANSAS – As reported by the Lawrence Journal-World: "Gov. Kathleen Sebelius isn't proposing something novel when she suggests having a state board pick from among competing developers to determine who manages state-owned casinos.

"The state went through a similar exercise repeatedly in the 1980s and 1990s, when it decided which developers could build, own and operate dog and horse tracks where betting on races would be permitted.

"…In 1987, Gov. Mike Hayden and legislators faced setting up a new Racing Commission after voters during the previous year approved a constitutional amendment to permit betting on dog and horse races.

"…Then, he appointed commission members who had little experience with pari-mutuel racing and an executive director who had served as Garden City's police chief. Within two years, the commission and its chairman, former Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Alfred Schroeder, faced intense public criticism over decisions.

"Charles McAtee, a Topeka attorney who represented an unsuccessful southeast Kansas applicant in the first round of pari-mutuel licensing hearings, said members of a new gambling board should come to their jobs with a good deal of knowledge about the casino industry.

"…He and former Kansas House Speaker Bob Miller, of Wellington, said the new gambling board must rely on independent sources, not developers, for information.

"…Sebelius and legislators also would be wise to promote open discussions of competing gambling proposals…"

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