Kan. Board Still Worries Casino Plans Lack Hotels

JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A group hoping to build a casino south of Wichita promised Monday to open a hotel within six months after gambling starts, but a state review board remained skeptical of the project.

The announcement was designed to improve Chisholm Creek's chances of winning approval for its $225 million project from the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board. The group said it is making a firm commitment to open a 100-room hotel by March 2012 at its site outside Mulvane, about 20 miles south of Wichita.

Review board members had been troubled because both the Chisholm Creek plan and a proposal for a casino in Kansas City, Kan., hadn't included hotels during the first phase of the projects. Some of the board's consultants said during a daylong hearing Monday that the lack of hotels would hinder the new casinos' ability to draw tourists.

"We're trying to meet the concerns of the board," John Frieden, a Topeka attorney representing Chisholm Creek, said during a break in the hearing, shortly before its public announcement.

Chisholm Creek officials said they have a commitment from Topeka-based Double Down Development LC to build the hotel. That firm, mostly Kansas investors, already is building a new casino in Dodge City.