December 20th, 2010 – by Glen Farmer
The Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board has granted a license to Peninsula Gaming for the Sumner County casino on Wednesday. The $260 million dollar casino proposal by Peninsula was chosen due to the suspicion that the casino will carry potential for generating more revenue than the competition.
A 6 to 1 vote by the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review board supported Peninsula Gaming casino, which was chosen instead of the $280 million dollar proposal from Global Gaming Solutions, a company owned by the Chickasaw Nation.
The Racing and Gaming Commission must now sign off on the winning proposal. A background check will take place before it is actually approved. To date, no proposal had been denied by the Gaming Commission, though this could change with the Peninsula Gaming proposal. Two executives from the company have recently been charged with misdemeanor counts of violating Iowan campaign finance laws.
The company has, to date, denied breaking the law.
According to projections, the casino is estimated to generate approximately $192 million in revenue per year, which would be compared to the $141 million that Global Gaming Solutions’ casino would generate – a 27 percent difference.
The gap had proven even larger by other estimates.
It will still take a few years in order for the casino to be established.