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Ag Magic at the Fair... Rhonda Renee, through her Ag Magic Show, shared many agricultural facts with 5-year-old Santi Corredor from Kansas City, Kansas, and other children during her free magic show July 29 at the Wyandotte County Fair. The county fair continues through Aug. 2 at The Woodlands, 9700 Leavenworth Road. Admission is free. Parking costs $3. Special events such as the demolition derby at 7:30 p.m. July 31 and Aug. 1 and the 4x4 Mud Stomper Mud Run at 6 p.m. Aug. 2 have a charge of $10 per ticket. For more information, visit the Wyandotte County Fair Web site at www.wycofair.com. (Photo by Bettse Folsom)

AG asked to look into three UG commissioners’ backing of Pinnacle proposal

By Mary Rupert
      The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission has turned over the names of three Unified Government commissioners to the Kansas attorney general’s office for investigation as to possible violation of Kansas Expanded Lottery Act provisions.
      The three commissioners, Donald DeSeure, Bill Miller and Ann Murguia, were seen on a video Aug. 13 endorsing the Pinnacle casino proposal.
      While the statute says that local officeholders cannot try to influence the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board, the attorney general has previously issued an opinion that they can express their personal opinions as individuals.
      A disclaimer that said it was a personal opinion appeared underneath the first commissioner’s picture on the video, but the disclaimer did not appear on the other pictures. When asked shortly afterward by the board, Daniel Lee, the chairman of Pinnacle, said it was the commissioners’ personal opinions and not the opinion of the UG.
      According to Mike Deines, communications director for the Racing and Gaming Commission, under the statute, any possible violations need to be reported to the attorney general.
      Mike Taylor, spokesman for the UG, said it was obviously troubling.
      “The mayor was very careful not to cross that line,” Taylor said.
      In a presentation just before Pinnacle’s, Mayor Joe Reardon explained the UG’s process of selection to the board, and said the UG had endorsed all three that came before it. When a Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board member asked him to name the applicant that was the worst of the three, the mayor refused to name one, saying that all had met the UG’s selection criteria.
      “I think everyone here understands it was not the UG as an institution,” Taylor said about the three commissioners’ opinions on a casino site. Taylor said he didn’t know about the commissioners’ appearance in the video until that day.
      Pinnacle is the only casino in the Kansas City, Kansas, school district, which could benefit from the property taxes.
      In a presentation Aug. 14, Edwardsville Mayor Heinz Rodgers and other city officials talked about the Edwardsville process. Edwardsville Councilmember Chuck Adams outlined to the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board “reasons to choose Edwardsville as the location for the destination casino.” He also talked about the advantages of the site at I-70 near 110th. There is only one applicant in Edwardsville, Golden Heartland.
      All four of the Wyandotte County casino sites are close to the I-70 and I-435 intersection.

Kansas Speedway-Cordish sweetens casino deal by offering extra NASCAR cup race

by Mary Rupert
      An extra NASCAR cup race in Kansas was offered by Lesa France Kennedy, president of International Speedway Corp., if Kansas selects a casino site at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Kennedy said she would ask NASCAR for a second cup race.
      Kennedy made the offer at casino developer presentations Aug. 13 at Kansas City, Kansas, Community College. The economic impact of the extra race would be more than $100 million for the       area, according to Speedway officials.
      Appearing with the Speedway team was race car driver Clint Bowyer, who is from Emporia, Kan. He said the Kansas Speedway has led the development of the area, and a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino there would be a benefit.
      Although the extra Cup race would still need the approval of a NASCAR board, the France family, which owns the majority of International Speedway Corp., also has several family members on the board, according to Speedway officials. Officials said they saw no problems in getting approval for the extra       Cup race.
      The proposal has obtained the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino brand name, which is more likely to attract visitors, according to casino developers. Developers described it as a "high-energy" attraction and played a promotional video with the song, "Born to Be Wild."
      The developer projects $349.3 million in gaming revenue in the first year, increasing to $385.6 million in the fifth year. The projection is for 3,000 slot machines and 140 table games.
      Speedway-Cordish could have a temporary gaming facility in operation eight months after receiving state approval, according to developers. It would raise an estimated $209 million annual revenue, with 2,000 slot machines and 75 table games, according to the proposal.
      Jonathan Cordish, director of finance for the Cordish Co. a privately held firm, told the Lottery Gaming Facility Review board that its projections were in "real" 2008 dollars. Their proposal had been tied to the consumer price index to adjust for inflation, something that other developers didn't include. But by the end of the question-and-answer session, Cordish offered to remove the inflation adjustment proposal on their contract, which would mean more revenues for the state.
      Mayor Joe Reardon said the Unified Government endorses all three developers in Kansas City, Kansas. When asked by the Lottery Gaming Facility Review board which one was the worst, Mayor Reardon declined to choose one, saying that all three met and exceeded the UG's standards. Matt All, chairman of the board, thanked Mayor Reardon for the work done by the Unified Government last year.
Pinnacle proposes site next to Schlitterbahn
      Pinnacle Entertainment is proposing a $650 million destination casino, with a 500-room hotel and 100,000-square-foot convention center.
      The Pinnacle casino development, located next to the Schlitterbahn, a water theme park under construction between 94th and I-435, is the only proposal within the Kansas City, Kansas, Public School district.
      Three boxes containing 8,000 postcards from Kansas City, Kansas, district students in favor of the site were presented to the board. The development is expected to produce more than $7 million a year for the Kansas City, Kansas, school district, said Daniel Lee, chairman and chief executive officer for Pinnacle Entertainment. Because of a revenue-sharing agreement, different areas would share revenues, but property taxes would be much more, according to Lee.
      A board member, however, questioned whether all the funds would stay with the Kansas City, Kansas, district, under the school finance plan.
      Another board member questioned whether it would be good to put a casino near a water park where children would be visiting. Lee said that already has been done at Disney World, where a casino is near a theme park, and in the Bahamas, where a casino is surrounded by a water park, and that security officers would make sure no one under 21 entered the casino.
      The board also asked Gary Henry, a principal of Schlitterbahn, which is adjacent to the casino development, when the development's hotel would open. Henry said if Pinnacle is chosen, Schlitterbahn would open a hotel with 1,600 rooms by the time the casino opens. If Pinnacle is not chosen, Schlitterbahn would open a hotel with 1,000 rooms, and scale up from there, Henry said.
      The Pinnacle team included former Mayor Carol Marinovich.Three current Unified Government commissioners appeared on a video supporting the project. They were Donald DeSeure, Bill Miller and Ann Murguia. A disclaimer stating that it was their personal opinion appeared beneath one commissioner's name, but not beneath the others.
      When asked by a board member about using the word "commissioner" on the video, Lee said that the statements on the video were the personal opinion of the three, not the Unified Government's opinion. Current officeholders, under state law, cannot advocate for a casino proposal in their official capacity, but the attorney general has issued an opinion stating that officeholders can express their own opinions unofficially, as individuals.
      Pinnacle, in a "best estimate," would bring in $401.5 million in gaming revenue and $86.8 million in nongaming revenue, according to Lee.
      According to Lee, Pinnacle would not want to open a temporary casino unless its 15-year term for the permanent casino would be extended two years. That's because the two years the temporary casino would be open would count as part of the 15-year agreement, he said. If its term were extended two years, it could open the temporary casino, he said.
      For more information about the proposals, with projections and pictures of each, visit the Web site,       http://www.ksracing.org/index.php?id=42, "Northeast Zone."

Kultala upsets Gilstrap in 5th District
 
      Challenger Kelly Kultala upset incumbent State Sen. Mark Gilstrap, D-5th Dist., in a primary contest Aug. 5.
      In two out of three contested primary contests here, voters chose challengers over incumbents.       Turnout was light during the day, according to Election Commissioner Bruce Newby.
      Voters also chose challenger Connie Alvey over Incumbent Wyandotte County District Court Judge Muriel Yates Harris, by a total of 5,745 to 4,276.
      Incumbent Wyandotte County District Court Judge Dan Cahill won a challenge from Reginald Davis, 5,376 to 4,528.
      Kultala will face Republican Steve Fitzgerald of Leavenworth in the general election.
      Kultala, who was endorsed in the primary by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Democratic leaders in the Kansas Senate, received a total 2,354 votes to Gilstrap’s 1,439. She won both Wyandotte County with 57 percent and Leavenworth County with 69 percent.
      Newby said in this primary, as in the past, Democrats allowed voters of all parties to declare that they were Democrats at the polls, while Republicans accepted only those who were registered in advance as Republican or unaffiliated to vote as Republicans.
      Unified Government officials said the primary election was marked by the move of one polling place from the Metropolitan Baptist Church to the election office, a block away, because an air conditioner did not work. The failure of the air conditioner was attributed to the theft of copper wiring.

Three sites compete for new youth camp here

by Mary Rupert
      One of three sites for the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Wyandotte County is expected to be selected within the next 60 days, with construction beginning in 2009, according to Mike Lepore, president of the camp.
      The 80-acre camp for youths with chronic illnesses, a special project of NASCAR racer Kyle Petty and his wife, Pattie, will be located within about five miles of the Kansas Speedway in western Wyandotte County, Lepore said.
      Why Wyandotte County? It has to do with a tragic story in Kyle and Pattie Petty’s lives, according to Lepore. Their son, Adam, was killed in an accident while racing at the New Hampshire Speedway in 2000. He was 19. His dream was to build a camp for children with chronic illnesses, Lepore said
      As a way to honor Adam, the Pettys opened the first Victory Junction Gang Camp in 2004 in North Carolina, he said. Kansas City was special to Adam because while he was in town to visit his first full sponsor, Sprint, he also would visit Children’s Mercy Hospital, Lepore said.
      A location in the Midwest will help the camp cut costs to transport youths, according to Lepore. The camp pays all costs for the youths. The camp will see youths with a full spectrum of disabilities from throughout the United States, providing activities, such as boating, archery, bowling, swimming and indoor sports, that can be adapted to youths in wheelchairs, he said.
      It will be built in an inclusive way that will allow every child to participate, he said. Youths will be able to go up a climbing tower in a wheelchair, if necessary, he added.
      “It’s a very empowering thing for these kids,” Lepore said. “Many of them come withdrawn, insecure and unsure of themselves, and leave with a new sense of confidence.”
      About 125 children from 7 to 15 years old attend the North Carolina camp each week, he said. Some campers have cancer, others, asthma, sickle cell anemia or other conditions. The camp here will be equipped for nearly any physical disability, he said.
      “The North Carolina camp has a NASCAR theme, with a body shop for a hospital,” he said. “We plan to do the same thing for KCK.”
      Lepore, who did not name the sites under consideration, said the camp will include a full medical facility.
      He said a fund-raising campaign for the camp in Wyandotte County started about a month ago with an appearance by Kyle Petty and is now on track. The fund-raising goal is $35 million, with $25 million coming from the Greater Kansas City area and $10 million nationally, he said. NASCAR drivers and       sponsors are contributing to the fund, he added.
      While the project now has a staff of one, with headquarters at the Kansas Speedway offices, next year it will probably need some volunteers and a staff, he said.
      After starting construction in 2009, plans are to partially open in 2010, he said. It would be fully open in 2011, he added.