October 2015 – Page 55 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Casinos see slight decrease from August to September in gaming revenues

Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway reported a slight decrease in September gaming revenues, as compared to August revenues.

According to figures released at today’s Kansas Lottery Commission meeting, September’s total was $11,243,474, as compared to August’s $11,642,755.

Revenues also were down at Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City, Kan., which reported $2.86 million in September as compared to $3,457,087 in August, according to Kansas Lottery figures. The Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, Kan., reported $14.37 million in September gaming revenues, down from $14.76 million in August.

The total for the three casinos was $1.38 million less in September than August.

However, looking at the revenues in a comparison of this September to last September, revenues were up.

Keith Kocher, director of program assurance and integrity for the Kansas Lottery, said casino revenues often decrease in September. He added there was an upward trend for the year, ahead by 2.79 percent from last year’s figures.

Kocher said a fourth planned state casino in southeast Kansas is currently in court.

In a written report to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, Rick Skinner, general manager of Hollywood Casino, stated that the gaming revenue for September 2015 was a 4.5 percent increase over the revenue for September 2014.

Special events in September included slots tournaments and a Chiefs watch party on Sept. 28, Skinner stated.

During the Kansas Speedway events Friday at the Hollywood Casino 400, the casino will be giving away a truck that was purchased from Clint Bowyer’s car dealership in Emporia, Kan.

Cobb goes from wedding to racetrack, all in one week

The number 10 has figured prominently in race car driver Jennifer Jo Cobb’s life, and this month, it has taken on an even more prominent role.

Cobb, from Kansas City, Kan., has long driven the No. 10 truck in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. At 3 p.m. Oct. 17, she will drive the No. 10 Mark One Electric Chevrolet in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 – only a week after she was married on Oct. 10 (10/10) to Eddie Troconis, a crew chief for Kyle Busch Motor Sports.

Troconis had been an engineer there and just recently was promoted to crew chief.

“Our wedding was a fairy tale but I am so glad to get back to racing! I think my husband feels the same,” Cobb said in a news release. “I asked my crew chief, Steve Kuykendall, to hold my dress and he said ‘dang, that weighs more than three fire suits!’”

Mark One Electric is Cobb’s primary sponsor, returning for its 12th time as Cobb’s sponsor at the speedway. Arrow Truck Sales and Pizza Shoppe also return after several years as sponsors, with Precision Roofing returning for a second year. Cobb will be meeting the public at a fan appearance from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Pizza Shoppe, 7687 N.W. Prairie View, Kansas City, Mo.

Cobb races in the XFINITY Series only a few times a year. She’s familiar with the Kansas Speedway track, but she may not have the resources of some of the bigger teams. She will be trying to get a good spot in the race. Cobb is the only native Kansan participating in the XFINITY race this weekend.

– Story from Tracey Passantino

Developers to tell of improvements in State Avenue Corridor

by Murrel Bland

Small and medium-size developers can succeed along the State Avenue Corridor.

That will be the message at the annual meeting of the State Avenue Corridor Planning and Marketing Committee at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the multi-purpose room at the Community College’s Technical Education Center, 6565 State Ave. The committee is part of the Business West organization.

Four developers will tell of their successful efforts along the corridor. They will be Clifford Dale Jr., Dr. Mohammad Ghassemi, Steve Tran and Greg Wilcox. Greg Kindle, president of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, will moderate the roundtable discussion.

Dale and his family corporation have purchased the former Sports Page Lounge at 941 N. 74th Drive that will become a family restaurant. The Dales also are planning to develop the area at 57th Street and State Avenue into a retail complex; the Unified Commission recently approved this property as a Tax Increment Financing district.

Dr. Ghassemi has purchased various properties along the corridor including vacant restaurant properties and parcels at 86th Street and State Avenue. He is moving his medical offices from the Turner community to renovated quarters at 59th Street and State Avenue.

Tran and his parents came here as Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s. He is the owner of a printing and web development company. More recently, he has developed laundromats. He has purchased the former Perkins restaurant that will become a “Bubble Room” laundromat and coffee shop.

Wilcox is the owner of Midway Auto Parts in the East Bottoms of Kansas City, Mo. He also owns Gold Properties that developed the Boyd Center at 79th Street and State Avenue; the center replaced an ugly house and unattractive landscaping.

Dr. Jane Winkler Philbrook, the president of Business West and the Unified Government commissioner from the Eighth District, will welcome those attending. Dr. Philbrook is a property owner and has an optometric practice in the corridor.

Alicia R. Hooks will tell of the entrepreneurship program at the college.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.