The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 6

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 252007 FROM THE COVER THE KANSAS CITY STAR WWWKANSASCITyCOM CASINO: THE PROPOSAL PINNACLE iJDonahoo Rd- (J 'C las A VEGAS SANDS kpavenworthRd0 i'4 4SS LEGENDS ParaflelPkwy SbfA MNNACLS OS Kansas KSAF Speedway fO KANSAS ENTERTAINMENT DAVID EUUTT THE KANSAS OTV STAR Boxes of written proposals for casino development In Kan- as City Ken were delivered to Memorial Hall on Monday course would complete the project Development Col This is is privately heid partnership owned by the Kickapoo Tribe of Indians oftheKickapoo' Reservation In Kansas and Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska It did not disclose details of its proposal but the tribes do own 80 acres at the northeast corner of 118 th i Street and State Avenue near Kansas Speedway and Village West development Kansas Entertainment LLC Kansas Speedway and the Cordish Caere the key players and will manage in partnership with the casino management group of Dennis Gomes an Industry veteran The complex would cost $600 million plus employ 2100 full time and have 3000 sloUlOO-: table games and a 300-room hotel with room to expand uptolOO hotel and condo units There also would be 300000 square feet of retail entertainment and dining space Rick Aim FROM A1 proposals Mayor Joe Reardon said Monday he was pleased" with the number of proposals and level of interest in the county Reardon pledged that the commission and staff would select a casino that is of the and best qual-' ity" v- think' that gives us great opportunities" Reardon said He said die proposals demon- strated "an endorsement of the great things happening in Wyandotte County" Tb pay for the vetting process the Unified Government imposed a $50000 application -fee on each of applicants The Kansas Lottery Com- mission will act as the state's casino owner and will have fi- nal say on selecting the company to manage one state- owned casino permitted under state law for Wyandotte County If the new ca- sino gambling law is upheld by the courts as constitutional The Woodlands dog and horse racing track in Wyandotte County also will operate at least 800 state-owned slot ma- chines -The Unified Monday deadline applied to developers submitting propos- als for casinos in Kansas City Kao only Bonner Springs and Edwardsville are also soliciting proposals but their deadlines are later this yean Most development teams revealed only vague details about their proposals on Monday The Las Vegas-based Las Vegas Sands Coiqx which is dra- matically expanding its casino holdings in Asia proposed building a $500 million casino and hotel resort project at Interstate 435 and Leavenworth Road Sands chairman and chief ex- -ecutive Sheldon GAdelson 74 is listed af No 3 on the annual Forbes magazine list of the 400 wealthiest Americans with a personal fortune estimated at" $28 billion spun largely from promoting trade shows Earlier this yean Forbes ranked Adek son as the Nd 6 richest person in the world Adelson controls 689 per-' cent of the publicly traded Sands stock Others that submitted pro- posals Monday include: I Kansas Speedway a Subsid- iary of International Speedway Corp in partnership with the Baltimore-based Cordish Co which developing the Kansas City Power Light District project downtown Lais Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment Inc which developing two St Louis area casino resorts with a combined value of $870 million Pinnacle fried separate bids for two Wyandotte County sites in- Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas "This is a high-market area" Development project has engaged JJL Dunn Con- structioa HNTB engineers and' architects and BHC Rhodes civil engineers land surveyors The Speedway proposal an- nounced last wm would not be built on land taken by the city from private landowners in a controversial eminent domain action years agoi Speedway President Jeff Boerger said Monday about 20 acres are being carved out for foe casino project including a hotel that would overlook foe oval racetrack This will not be on property taken in eminent domain- he said will be no public financing attached to fob project" Boerger estimated the project would draw 85 million vis-: itors a year and generate $100 million a year in casino taxes' alone A key legal issue still to be decided is whether the law 7 meets the constitution's requirement that gambling be owned and Opponents argue the new law is unconstitutional because the Kansas Lottery Commis-sion would contract with private companies to develop pay for and manage the casinos The court ruled in 1994 that the word in the state constitution was legally broad enough to include slots and casino games Bui four of the seven current justices joined the court after that decision To reach Rick Aim call 816-234-4785 or send e-mall torel mkcstarcom To reach Mark Wlsba call 816-234-5995 or send e-mail to mwlebekcstarcom pany is talkingalwut a 100000-square-foot casino floor with up to 5JXX) slots and 200 table By way of perspectiva the Kansas City market has about 800 slots in four riverboat casinos The hugest Kansas City Aineristar Kansas City Casino and Hotel sports a 140000 square-foot floor with slots and 103 table games Sands also proposed at least 300 hotel rooms along with an entertainment venue with a 1200-seat capacity or mora an outdoor amphitheater and a man-made lake with fountain features The Sands project is planned for the northwest comer of foe 1-435 exit at Leavenworth Road within eyeshot of The Woodlands where at least 800 more slots are expected to be in operation early next year designed something we think is said Weidner folly vet-ted it and priced it yet but' p6tty confident a half billion (dollar) plus project" Like officials: Alex Stolyer of Pinnacle Entertainment in Las Vegas said bis proposal porth of the Village West and speedway developments would open more of Wyandotte County for new development in between tribal officials revealed few details of their plan for the northeast corner of 118th Street and State Avenue If selected the tribal partners would operate as a private business and not as Native Americans under federal Indi- an gaming laws: Most of the development teams praised Wyandotte Coirnty as a great place for a destination casino happy about this said Steve Cadue tribal chairman for the Plnnade Entertainment Inc The publicly traded firm has numerous institutional investors: none holds more than 69 percent of the publicly traded firm it has proposed two separate locations at the northeast corner of new 1-435 interchange at ponahoo Road and at the southeast corner of l-435 and Parallel Parkway next to the Schlitterhahn water park The $300 million minimum complex would have a 100 000-square-foot casino 500-room hotel a 1 0000 O-square-foot 1 convention center a 50000-square-foot live event venue and retail and dining establishments Las Vegas Sands Corp The publicly traded Sands i-' which owns casinos in Las Vegas and Macaa'China proposes a $500 million 1 plus complex that would bring at least Z000 full-time JObs The casino would have 100000 Square feet of floor space 5000 slots and 200 table games A 300-room hotel with multipurpose showroom would seat 1200 or more and have an outdoor amphitheater and a man-made lake with fountain features chiding at 1-435 and Donahoo Road where a hew highway in- tetchaiige is under construction I A team involving RED Development builder of The Legends shopping center at Village West Olympia Gaining LLC which operates a casino in Car-son City Nev and is developing a Legends strapping mall with RED near Reno New and the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority I A company formed by the Kickapoo and Sac and Pot tribes which have operated reservation casinos In Kansas since the late 1990s Kansas' casino law which Gov Kathleen Sebelius signed in April requires developers in Wyandotte and Sumnercoun- ties and in southeast Kansas to invest a minimum $225 million in the projects A casino developer in Ford County including Dodge City Kan must invest at least $50 million Wyandotte County officials set jnmimnm investment standards it would consider at $300 million If the new casino law ap- proved this spring is upheld by the courts Kansas would be dra first state to own Las Ve- gas-style casino resorts Legends Sun Casino The key players in this -group are RED Development Olympia Gaming LLC and the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority Red would manage the retail projects while tribal interests would manage the casino Their proposal did not disclose a total cost but the casino would have 3500 Slots 90 i table games a poker room and a keno parlor A 1000-room hotel 1200-seat entertainment venue 35500-square-foot convention center 200000 square feet of retail plus residential units and a Robert Trent Jones designed 18-hole golf Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison challenged the constitutionality of the kw in a test case which the Kansas Supreme Court last week refused to hear The high court said Morrison'S test case must work its way through die judicial sys- tern starting with a trial in Shawnee County District Court Various public officials last week speculated the case could take' anywhere from three months to two years before a final verdict is rendered by the high court Sands casino may be the largest and most dramatic proposal unveiled Monday don't view it as large relative to what we develop" said Sands president and chief operating officer William Weidnet The company currently has more than $12 billion in con struction under way in casino projects in Asia Las Vegas and Pennsylvania: Weidner said the company is enthused about the Midwest and developing what would be foe first genuine land-based casino in the focal marketplace "The Kansas City market isnt just Kansas and he said a regional City is a robust marketplace that has shown rea- sonably strong growth he said capacity is theta if we re right about land-based gaming and easy access that is contiguous to the facility" He said been to Mis? souri's riverboats and was dismayed by the often long and winding walks and etoator rides from parking garages to casino floor: While he called the final size and shape of project as up or down based on final market studies the com- at Global Medical Direct help you manage your diabetes flj FREE BREAKFAST LUNCH SEMINARS Learn about: Newest Blood Glucose Testing Methods Nutrition Information Diabetic Foot Care Eligible Participants receive: FREE Blood Glucose Monitor FREE Diabetic Foot Inspection FREE Diabetic Socks 2007 DTS ORIGINAL MSRP $45285 An opportunity to take advantage of today's soft luxury car market Cadillac brilliant DTS Head-turning styling An interior cabin lavished with accessories to pamper your every whim Remote start Heated and cooled seats In-dash 6-disc CD wMP3 player 17 wheels Parking sensors And the magic-carpet ride of a Cadillac: Remainder of 4yr50k factory warranty Today 800-505-1625 YOUR SEAT FREE Meal Seminars limited September 27 Registration: 9:00 am and 12:00 (noon) IHop 1919 Prairie Crossing Kansas City Kansas 66111 By the Speedway Call TO RESERVE at these Seating is September 28 Registration: 9:00 am IHop 1919 Prairie Crossing Kansas City Kansas 66111 By the Speedway Randy Reed Pontiac-Buick -GMC 10 NW Barry Road Kansas City (Barry Road at Metro North Mall) (816)436-6300 J4309WesL95thee globalmedd ire cfco mss PGraoHM2007 1 jilufeV A I.