Month: February 2015

Hollywood Casino showed revenue increase in January, compared with one year ago

A casino revenue report released today showed a slight decline in revenues from December to January, but a slight increase from January 2014 to January 2015.

Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway revenues showed a slight drop, almost $400,000, from December to January, while increasing about $1.3 million when January of 2014 was compared to January 2015.

In a written report to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, Bob Sheldon, general manager of Hollywood Casino, stated that slot revenue was up 16.5 percent when compared to the previous January, while table games revenue was down 5.6 percent compared to the prior year. There was a higher than normal hold percentage on table games in 2014, according to the report.

He attributed good January 2015 results to promotions that were held, as well as to unusually good weather last month compared to January 2014.

At today’s Kansas Lottery Commission meeting, Keith Kocher, the lottery’s director of program assurance and integrity, stated that Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City reported about $3.55 million in revenues, and Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, Kan., reported slightly more than $15 million in revenues for January.

These figures were increases from January 2014, according to lottery records.

When compared to the December figures, the January figures represented a slight decline at Kansas Star, while a slight increase at Boot Hill, according to the records.

Kansas Lottery officials were happy today about the increase in Powerball ticket sales in the state. The Powerball jackpot today was over $500 million, lottery officials reported.

The lottery’s director, Terry Presta, reported that Powerball ticket sales were up 1.4 million, almost 1 percent, in Kansas.

It is the first week in about a year that Powerball has been up over $300 million, lottery officials said.

HCA Midwest Health to pay additional $15M to settle part of ongoing lawsuit

by Dan Margolies

HCA Midwest Health has agreed to pay the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City $15 million to settle part of a long-running dispute with the foundation over HCA’s charitable obligations.

The agreement is the latest development in a lawsuit filed in 2009 by the foundation, which was created from the proceeds of the sale of Health Midwest to HCA in 2003.

Last April, HCA agreed to pay $77 million to the foundation, on top of nearly $162 million that a judge ordered it to pay in 2013. The latest settlement brings the total to $254 million.

The lawsuit concerns whether HCA met its contractual obligations following its purchase of Health Midwest to provide at least $653 million in charity and uncompensated care over 10 years.

The latest settlement does not affect an ongoing dispute between HCA and the foundation over whether HCA met its capital expenditure obligations.

“The foundation is pleased to have reached this settlement and will use the proceeds to continue our mission of improving health for the uninsured and underserved in the Kansas City community,” Kenneth Southwick, chairman of the foundation’s board, said in a news release about the settlement.

M.L. Lagarde, president and CEO of HCA Midwest Health, said in the release that while the company believed it had “fully satisfied and exceeded its charity and uncompensated care obligations,” the settlement “provides additional funds for the benefit of the health care needs of Kansas City’s uninsured and underserved population.”

HCA is the largest for-profit hospital chain in the country.

The company paid $1.3 billion in 2003 to acquire Menorah Medical Center, Research Medical Center, Overland Park Regional Medical Center and other nonprofit health care facilities owned by Health Midwest.

Proceeds of the sale were used to set up the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City on the Missouri side of the state line and the REACH Healthcare Foundation on the Kansas side.

The nonprofit KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute and a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor reporting collaboration. All stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to KHI.org when a story is reposted online.

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Fire on North 47th may have been electrical

A fire at 6:17 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 2929 N. 47th St. was possibly electrical in nature.

A spokesman for the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department stated the fire is under investigation as electrical.

When fire crews arrived, within 4 minutes of the call, they saw smoke coming from the attic of the one-story wood-framed home, according to the spokesman.

All the occupants had already evacuated the building, and the fire was brought under control within 30 minutes, the spokesman said.

According to the spokesman, the estimated damage to the structure and contents was $8,500. The estimated pre-fire value to the structure was $80,000.

There were no injuries, the spokesman said.