Month: June 2020

Pent-up demand seen at Hollywood Casino

After being closed for about two months, Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway reported gaming revenues of $4.3 million in seven days of gaming at the end of May.

The casino in Kansas City, Kansas, reopened on May 25 with long lines outside waiting to get in. Because of the risk of COVID-19, the state casinos had been shut the entire month of April, half of March and most of May.

“There was obviously some pent-up demand based on numbers over the weekend,” said Catherine Moyer, chairman of the Kansas Lottery Commission, which met Wednesday afternoon in a telephone conference call.

Keith Kocher, the Kansas Lottery’s director of program assurance and integrity, reported that Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City, which reopened May 22, reported revenues of about $960,000; Kansas Star Casino, Mulvane, Kansas, which reopened May 23, reported revenues of $4.97 million; and Kansas Crossing, Pittsburg, Kansas, which reopened May 22, reported revenues of $1.16 million.

A year ago, in May 2019, Hollywood Casino reported gaming revenues of $13.5 million, according to state records. In April 2020, revenues were zero.

The casinos reopened in Phase 2 of the Kansas recovery plan.

“I want to stress the great job that the casinos did putting together a joint health and safety plan,” Kocher said. The plan went to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Lottery and the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission for approval. Few changes were made to the plan, he said.

Kocher said changes were made to the casinos’ floors for social distancing and health measures. Hollywood Casino reopened with 926 machines, with 2,000 the normal amount. Boot Hill has about 270 machines in operation, while it normally has about 650. Kansas Star has about 767 slot machines currently, out of 1,750 under normal circumstances. Kansas Crossing has 262 machines, and normally has about 625, he said.

Table games at the casinos were affected, and he added that there is no poker being played now at the casinos, because in that game cards are handled and players sit next to each other.

Kocher said for fiscal 2020, casino revenues are down by about 18.5 percent, with individual casinos ranging from 17 to 22 percent, year over year.

“We don’t know yet when the next phase will go into effect,” he said. They continue to have weekly phone conferences with the casinos, he added.

Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery, also complimented the casinos for their reopening plans. He said there is constant monitoring of the casinos, 24-7, by the state and the KRGC. They are watching the casinos closely, monitoring health.

While the casinos were closed, the sales of some lottery tickets in Kansas were increasing, according to lottery officials.

Durrell said instant games had thrived during the shutdown. Apparently while people were out shopping a grocery stores and gas stations, they bought instant game tickets.

Instant game tickets were up about 14 percent in May, compared to last May, he said.

However, all the draw games were down, Durrell said. Overall, ticket sales were down about a little less than 9 percent, he added. As the economy opens up, he said he expected the games to rebound.

Durrell credited improvements in the sales of some of the lottery tickets to the marketing and retail staff. He also said there is a popular Facebook page for the lottery, run by the lottery’s social media manager, that has attracted a huge following.

The last couple of months, most people were stuck at home and looking for things to do, he said. They were able to buy tickets and bring them home. Whether that will continue this month to the next fiscal year, they wll have to wait and see, he said.

Lottery member Jim Washington pointed out that they may see some improvement in sales for Mega Millions and Powerball, as the Mega Millions jackpot is up to $378 million and Powerball is up to $135 million.

The Kansas Lottery had some winners that were scheduled to attend the Kansas Speedway spring races, originally scheduled Memorial Day weekend, for their prize. Durrell said the prize was unavailable as the race was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and hasn’t been rescheduled yet.

He said the lottery decided to award the cash amount named in the prize, plus $3,000 worth of Play On points, to the winners. It was “the best we could do under the circumstances,” he added. He said he looked forward to continuing the speedway lottery contest this fall.

Plans underway for a warehouse distribution facility for The Woodlands

The possible end of The Woodlands as a horse or dog track is under discussion, with the property at 97th and Leavenworth Road up for sale.

According to Mike Taylor, a Unified Government spokesman, The Woodlands’ owner has put the former racetrack up for sale to Scannell Properties, which wants to build a 1 million square foot warehouse distribution facility and office park with retail development at a corner of the former racetrack. The current owner, Phil Ruffin, is a Las Vegas casino owner.

Taylor said he understood the deal with Scannell was near closing, and if the sale happens, the development then would need to go through planning and zoning with public hearings. The horse and dog track buildings would be demolished, according to Taylor. The new plans would require UG approval.

About 1,000 new jobs would be created by the development, and plans called for 70 acres between the new development and Wyandotte County Lake to become walking trails and green space, according to the UG.

The selling price of The Woodlands was said to be near $20 million, as compared to about $15 million that Ruffin paid for it about five years ago, according to Taylor.

Taylor said the Unified Government has backed Ruffin’s efforts to reopen The Woodlands during the past few years in the Legislature. Under a different UG Commission and administration, the UG had opposed efforts to reopen. This past session, the Legislature again did not approve a law that would have allowed the racetrack to make a profit.

Taylor said The Woodlands issue did not come up again today in the Kansas Legislature, which was called back for a special session. The Legislature is largely dealing with COVID-19 legislation, he said. He added there was an attempt to bring up Medicaid expansion again today, but it failed.

The Woodlands opened in 1989 and closed in 2008 in a dispute with Kansas lawmakers over the amount of taxes that would have to be paid when slot machines were authorized. Horse and dog tracks were allowed to add slot machines, but would have to pay almost twice as much in gaming taxes as the state-owned casinos.

Scannell Properties is a real estate development firm with headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, that has more than 300 development projects in 44 states and in Canada.

According to the UG, project plans are being reviewed at the local level, and also by the state of Kansas and Army Corps of Engineers.

The Woodlands these past few years ran into some local opposition from neighbors at planning and zoning meetings when it used its parking lot to store vehicles, with neighbors complaining about traffic coming in and out of the facility.

Governor makes statement on bipartisan agreement on economic recovery

Gov. Laura Kelly this morning made a statement on a bipartisan agreement reached ahead of the special legislative session today.

The governor’s statement:

“Kansas has faced unprecedented challenges over the last three months because of Covid-19. I’m proud of the efforts my administration has taken working with our local and federal partners to prioritize the health and safety of Kansans, while also creating a decisive and transparent process for our economic recovery. 

“Last week, I vetoed legislation sent to me by the Legislature because it would have undermined my ability to honor the promises I made to Kansans about how we would govern during this crisis. It was rushed, written without bipartisan discussion, and passed unconstitutionally. 

“I will support this bipartisan bill that was created with input from Republicans, Democrats, and stakeholders that I believe will provide the framework our state needs as we continue on the path to recovery. To be clear, there are parts of this bill that I do not support. However, my priority is and will always be the interests of Kansans first. I believe that the majority of this legislation accomplishes that and upholds my commitment to work across the aisle to move our state forward.”