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Kansas Legislators to Tackle Slot Machine Issue

"It also would allow one `at-large' casino at a site to be determined.

"Researchers estimate the plan could eventually generate $84 million a year in new revenue for the state.

"But many lawmakers remain opposed to gambling on moral grounds, regardless of the state's current budget crunch.

"And proponents of slots are lukewarm, at best, about the percentage of revenues that track owners would receive under the plan, which was drafted during 10 hours of meetings by a special gaming committee in the past two weeks.

"…Bickering among gambling advocates on how to split the revenues has doomed efforts to approve slots in previous years.

"Many gambling proponents say this year is their best chance yet at expanding gambling in Kansas because of the state's budget shortfall, which grew to $698 million Friday.

"…Wichita is a prime location for a `destination' casino that would lure tourists who otherwise simply pass through Kansas on their way to Colorado or Missouri, said Robin Jennison, a former House speaker who was hired as a Wichita Greyhound Park lobbyist.

"…Gambling opponents, however, say Wichita has no chance of becoming a Las Vegas-type destination for gambling tourists. Instead, they say, a casino in Wichita would draw mostly from a 50-mile radius, pulling entertainment dollars away from other businesses.

"…Currently, Kansas law allows pari-mutuel gambling on dog and horse racing at the tracks. Track owners say they lose money because they cannot compete with American Indian casinos in northeast Kansas and riverboat casinos in Kansas City, Missouri.

"…Gov. Bill Graves has said he would sign a slots-at-the-tracks bill but does not intend to include gambling revenue when he crafts his next budget-balancing proposal. Gambling interests, he said, have not proved they can develop a plan that lawmakers will approve…"

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