Scope of casino compact created obstacle to action

John Hanna

Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2004 | 9:12 a.m.

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Gov. Kathleen Sebelius tried to use a casino compact with two Indian tribes to resolve thorny gambling issues this fall, but the agreement's wide scope created too big an obstacle.

The compact would allow the Kickapoo and Sac and Fox tribes to open a casino in Wyandotte County and guarantee the state $50 million or more annually. The agreement also would protect the new casino from competition by threatening the state with the loss of its revenue if it did not restrict gambling elsewhere.

If legislative leaders had exercised their legal power to approve such a compact, they would have set policy on expanding gambling.

That fact made it easier for House Speaker Doug Mays to block action on the compact last week. Instead of discussing the compact's merits or gambling policy, Mays argued that such a big decision shouldn't be left to only a few leaders.

"We'll have a debate, and it will be before the full Legislature," said Mays, R-Topeka.

Mays could block action on the compact because he's chairman of the Legislative Coordinating Council and sets its agenda. State law says the council can approve a compact when lawmakers are out of session, but Mays kept the Kickapoo-Sac and Fox agreement off the agenda for the council's meeting Wednesday.

The lack of action didn't kill the compact, of course. Sebelius and the tribes can still present the agreement to lawmakers after their 2005 session convenes.

"We're still here," said Emily Conklin, the Kickapoo tribe's vice chairwoman, who helped negotiate the compact. "I believe this compact will pop up again."

But Sebelius may be less aggressive about a compact because she'll have other issues to pursue.

In statements last week, Sebelius noted that her agenda for the session included health care initiatives and improving public schools, suggesting gambling would be less important.

"The governor really is going to turn her attention elsewhere," said Matt All, her chief counsel.

All said the compact represented an attempt to move forward on gambling.

In January, Sebelius proposed a bill to allow up to five state-owned casinos, up to 2,500 slot machines spread among the state's dog- and horse-racing tracks, and video lottery machines at 240 fraternal clubs. Legislators -- as they have repeatedly over the past decade -- rejected the gambling legislation.

Still, negotiations with the tribes remained an option. They and Sebelius struck a deal in October.

Their compact would be the first in Kansas to offer the state a share of revenue from Indian gambling, though seven states have similar agreements with tribes.

The Kickapoo and Sac and Fox already operate separate casinos in northeast Kansas, as do the Iowa and Prairie Band Potawatomi, under compacts approved in the 1990s.

The latest compact would permit the Kickapoo and Sac and Fox to build a $210 million casino-and-hotel complex near Kansas Speedway.

To receive any revenue, the state would have to limit the number of slot machines elsewhere in Kansas to 600 or fewer each at Wichita Greyhound Park, a now-closed dog track outside Pittsburg and The Woodlands dog and horse racing park in Kansas City, Kan.

During a legislative session, a bill to allow one big casino and to limit slot machines elsewhere to dog and horse tracks would face opposition from gambling opponents. Developers, communities and groups interested in getting a piece of the pie would likely attack such a plan as too narrow.

"We didn't have much time to analyze a complex set of issues," said Senate President Dave Kerr, R-Hutchinson. "It's not easy to tell what the implications are."

Sebelius said history supported having the Legislative Coordinating Council approve the latest compact. In 1995, the council approved the compacts allowing the Kickapoo and Sac and Fox to operate their existing casinos.

But that year, as Mays noted, the council acted after the full Legislature already had approved similar compacts with the Potawatomi and Iowa. And none of the four compacts attempted to set gambling policy across the state.

Also, three of the council's seven current members leave office in January. Kerr and Senate Majority Leader Lana Oleen, R-Manhattan, are retiring. House Speaker Pro Tem John Ballou, R-Gardner, lost his August primary election.

Finally, Mays boiled his arguments against action into a single, key question: Why shouldn't the full Legislature decide such big gambling issues?

"This compact is far-reaching," Mays said. "It makes new law. It breaks new ground."