The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma is facing competition for a proposed commercial casino in Kansas.
The tribe is working with Phil Ruffin, the owner of the defunct Camptown Greyhound Park and the owner of
the Las Vegas Treasure
Island Hotel & Casino, on the project. They plan to submit a bid to the Kansas
Lottery Commission by a December 19 deadline.
“Chairman Berrey and everyone are working through the process," spokesperson Alan Mauk told The Joplin Globe. "Their plans haven’t changed at all.”
A second developer, however, has entered the race. The Southeast Kansas Casino Group is also planning to bid on the sole license for the region.
“It’s very favorable for us, because this gives us two in the game," Pittsburg City Manager Daron Hall told the paper.
The tribe operates the Downstream Casino Resort
just 40 miles north of the Camptown site. The gaming portion sits on trust land
in Oklahoma while other parts of the facility are located in Missouri and
Kansas.
The casino at Camptown is being envisioned as a smaller-scale version of
Downstream.
Get the Story:
Second developer interested in casino in Crawford County
(The Joplin Globe 10/30)
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Quapaw Tribe eyes
local support for commercial casino in Kansas (08/29)