[File this under news of the weird.]
FEBRUARY 4, 2010 (State) House Rules in Kansas Casino Gambling Is Back in Dodge City and This Time the Public Owns the Joint as Legislators Find Novel Way to Make It Legal By STEPHANIE SIMON Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703338504575041433293903748.html?mod=WSJ_article_LatestHeadlines DODGE CITY, Kan.Mike Tamburelli is an old hand at casino management and over the years, he has opened gambling resorts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri. But he has never dealt with an owner like the one in this old Wild West town. In an arrangement not replicated anywhere in the U.S., the state of Kansas owns the new Boot Hill Casino & Resortthe slot machines, the blackjack tables, the chips, all of it, right down to the last pair of dice. And so Mr. Tamburelli, the casino's general manager, must run all aspects of his business plan past state officials: the payouts on his slot machines, the layout of his surveillance cameras, his customer-rewards program, his billboards. "It's different," Mr. Tamburelli said. "But it's working out well. They're interested in making as much money as they can, which is good. That's what we're interested in, too." Gambling is down sharply in this recession and many casinos and state lotteries are feeling the pinch. Even so, lawmakers see gambling as a new source of revenue at a time of tight state budgets. In state after state, legislators have been considering proposals to introduce lottery games, set up video-poker terminals in restaurants or install slot machines at racetracks. In Kansas, lawmakers wanted a piece of the action, too, but faced legal constraints. The state constitution once banned most gambling. That was amended by popular vote in 1986, but the new language was restrictive, allowing a state-owned lottery and nonprofit-run horse and dog racing, but not commercial casinos. So lawmakers decided to expand the purview of the state lottery beyond scratch-off tickets to full-scale casinos. They passed a bill in 2007 permitting four such casinos in Kansas, each to be built and operated by a private company and wholly owned by the lottery. Boot Hill, opening here in December with 584 slot machines and 10 table games, is the first to get off the ground. In the 1880s, Dodge City had a reputation as "the wickedest little city in America," its packed-dirt streets crowded with saloons, brothels and gambling houses offering everything from five-cent dice throws to high-stakes poker. Nowadays, it is best known for a huge cattle slaughterhouseand as the setting of the old TV show "Gunsmoke." There's not much in the way of entertainment in southwest Kansas, other than pheasant hunting; it's a three-hour drive to Wichita and three hours past that to Kansas City. So many locals welcome the casino, not only because of the 280 jobs, but also for the entertainment. The casino is projected to bring in $40 million a year. By law, 27% of gross gambling revenue flows into the state treasury; the rest goes to the builder-operator, Butler National Corp., of Olathe, Kan. The company spent $45 million to build Boot Hill and has a 15-year contract to run it. The state's 27% take is not out of line with gambling taxes elsewhere. Those taxes, typically on gross gambling revenue as well, range from less than 7% in Nevada to more than 50% in Pennsylvania, with states such as Michigan, Louisiana and Colorado coming in around 20%, according to the American Gaming Association. What is unusual in Kansas is that state officials can watch a minute-by-minute tally of action on the casino floor. Ed Van Patten, the Kansas lottery executive director, likes to pop by the computer programmed to keep track; he can see exactly how much is being wagered at blackjackand how much of that the state will pocket. His staff also decides how loose the slot machines will be. When the casino first opened, state officials ordered bigger payouts on some games they deemed miserlyotherwise, "no one was going to play," Mr. Van Patten said. His staff reviews all gaming software and approves slot-machine titles such as "Eye of the Dragon," "Blazing 777" and "Mr. Cashman." All this is a little jarring for Kansas, a state with a history of trying to legislate morality following Dodge City's heyday in the late 19th century. Prohibition remained in place in Kansas until 1948, a full 15 years after the federal ban was repealed. Liquor stores couldn't sell cold beer until 1970 lest customers be tempted to guzzle on the spot, and it wasn't until 1986 that restaurants and bars could serve alcohol to the public. Gambling, too, has long been suspect in the state for moral reasons, said Burdett Loomis, a political scientist at the University of Kansas. So the thought of taxpayers owning the yellow-felt gambling tables and flashing slot machines at Boot Hill doesn't sit well with some critics, who also argue that the casinos pose unfair competition to mom-and-pop restaurants and stores. "It's wrong for the state to be involved in the business of gambling," said Mark Kahrs, chair of the antigambling citizens group Stand Up for Kansas. So far, however, the traffic at Boot Hill has been brisk. Some weekend nights have drawn such crowds that the manager had to temporarily close the doors. Other nights, there have been long lines for slot machines. "What else is there to do? You don't go ice skating in Kansas," said Rita Bergkamp, age 70, at the slots with her husband, Bill. "Other states do it. Why not Kansas?" ================================================= George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923 Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927 Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-3011 *********************************** * POST TO [email protected] * *********************************** Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
