City historians object to casino’s fact-twisting

Tuesday, March 28, 2000 | 11:18 a.m.

So an ad that seemed to rewrite the famed pony riders' history didn't go over too well.

Harrah's North Kansas City Casino and Hotel ran an ad that announced the unveiling Monday of a Pony Express statue.

"This statue at Harrah's Casino stands nearest the commencement of the Pony Express," the ad read. The ad also invited people to "witness a piece of Missouri history."

A Harrah's spokeswoman said officials of the casino, located in the small community of North Kansas City, meant no disrespect to St. Joseph, about 50 miles north.

"The Pony Express was extremely important to William Harrah, and the advertisement was meant to show that the casino was the nearest Harrah's to the commencement of the Pony Express," spokeswoman Niki Ryan said.

However, the ad drew complaints from St. Joseph historians.

MacAndrew Burns, director of the Pony Express Museum, said it was very misleading.

"It used to be when somebody didn't like the facts they'd leave them out, do it by omission. Now we're just rewriting history," said Jim George, a St. Joseph history teacher. "We play fast and loose with history. If you can call them gambling boats with departure times, then it's an easy skip to saying the Pony Express started in Kansas City or Joplin."

"It's sacrilegious to rewrite history," retired museum director and author Roy E. Coy said. "In all my years of studying the Pony Express, I've never heard that Kansas City had anything to do with it. They ought to get their facts straight."

The ad also drew criticism from the St. Jo Frontier Casino, which has spent thousands of dollars on Pony Express history. It purchased the map from Harold's Club in Reno and commissioned a Pony Express mural for the casino.

"It's just a very cheap gimmick when everyone knows where the Pony Express started," said Dick DeShon, speaking for the St. Jo Frontier Casino.