Debate Continues on Profitability of Kansas Casinos

GALENA, Kansas – As reported by the Joplin Globe: "Studies done on a destination casino in Southeast Kansas agree that it would make money, but disagree on how much revenue it would generate
  for the region.

"William Thompson, a gambling researcher and professor of public administration at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, said the key to real economic benefit is drawing visitors from outside the area. If that's the case, the casino would benefit Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri.

"…His study estimated a Cherokee County resort casino would result in gross revenues of $225 million annually.

"…Thompson's estimate corresponds with a study conducted by GVA Marquette Advisors, performed for Kansans for Economic Growth, a casino backer. It estimated revenues of $226 million in the first year, increasing to $263 million in year five of operation.

"…In a study done last February, Christiansen Capital Advisers revised its revenue projection for a Cherokee County casino to between $139 million and $162 million annually. A supplemental study CCA conducted the following month revised the estimate again, to $184 million annually.

"…It notes that it is impossible to accurately estimate how Oklahoma casinos would affect a Southeast Kansas casino…"