Kansas House approves gambling expansion

John Milburn

Monday, May 6, 2002 | 9:34 a.m.

TOPEKA, Kan. -- On the day horses were running for the roses, the House voted to expand legalized gambling at the state's pari-mutuel racetracks.

However, passage of the bill in the Senate -- or even a hearing -- was not a sure bet.

The 63-60 House vote Saturday came just hours before post time for the 128th running of the Kentucky Derby. Both supporters and opponents of the bill said a vote in the Senate could be equally close.

Many of the House members who supported the bill said they were voting more against others alternative for dealing with the state's financial problems than for the expanded gambling.

"I would rather pass gaming than put sales tax on groceries," Rep. Bill Feuerborn, D-Garnett, said.

The bill would allow slot machines and other electronic gambling devices at pari-mutuel racetracks if voters in the counties where they are located approve. House members amended the proposal to allow the machines at an unspecified "at-large" site not tied to a track, if voters approve.

The bill's future in the Senate remained uncertain.

Complicating the debate was a proposal from the Kickapoo and Sac and Fox tribes to combine their separate casinos in northeast Kansas and move the operation to Wyandotte County. The tribes have said they would offer the state a cut of the profits to get it to enter into a gambling compact.

For supporters, another complication was the opposition of Senate Republican leaders, including Federal and State Affairs Committee Chairwoman Nancey Harrington.

Harrington, R-Goddard, said she is not sure her committee will have time for a hearing on the bill, given that it arrived on the 94th calendar day of the session.

But supporters counted on the state's financial problems -- legislators need to raise $290 million to balance a budget they approved Friday -- to put pressure on senators to pass the gambling bill. Critics conceded the budget shortfall worked to the measure's advantage.

"In the past, the Senate has opposed it, but this is a different environment," said Glenn Thompson, who lobbies for Stand Up for Kansas, an anti-gambling group.

And at least one House member was confident the bill would pass the Senate, despite his personal objections.

"So many times people vote yes thinking the Senate will kill the bill," Rep. Doug Mays, R-Topeka, said. "This will pass the Senate."

Other House members said the state shouldn't see gambling as a solution to its financial problems. They said the machines won't be in place quickly enough -- then will create social problems and weaken local businesses when they are.

"It doesn't bail us out of the financial crunch," Rep. Bill Mason, R-El Dorado, said.

The House voted down a similar gambling measure earlier this year, and both chambers rejected gambling proposals last year.

Under the current bill, slot machines and other devices could be installed at Kansas' five pari-mutuel race tracks. The bill specifies how profits would be shared among track operators, local governments and the state.

Machines would be allowed at The Woodlands in Kansas City, Camptown Greyhound Park near Pittsburg and Wichita Greyhound Park. They also would be permitted at Eureka Downs in Greenwood County and Anthony Downs in Harper County, which have limited seasons.

The bill would require that 26.5 percent of the net revenues from the machines go to the state, with 1 percent set aside to cover regulatory expenses and 0.5 percent used for an eight-year renovation of the Statehouse.

Governments of the cities and counties where tracks are located would each receive 1 percent of the revenues.

Track owners would receive 66 percent of net revenues, except at Camptown, where owners would receive 65.8 percent, with the balance going to local projects. Supporters argue that track owners need such a percentage to justify their investment in the new gambling machines -- and to encourage them to build hotels and restaurants.