The Cherokee County and investors of Castle Rock Casino have brought to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission to a final legal showdown to start the year 2017.
According to the report of Pittsburg Morning Sun, the Kansas Supreme Court has taken up the appeal of Castle Rock and set the oral arguments of the case on January 25.
Both the Cherokee County and Castle Rock Casino proponents are questioning the decision of the State of Kansas to award the casino contract to Kansas Crossing despite being the smallest of three competing proposals.
Castle Rock’s proposal was not only more than twice the size of Kansas Crossing’s but was expected to bring in nearly 1 million visitors per year – mostly from out of state – about double the expectations from Kansas Crossing.
Despite making the largest proposal of $145 million project for U.S. 400 near Interstate 44 in Cherokee County, Castle Rock lost to Kansas Crossing since an independent review has casted doubt on the former’s ability to meet its debt service and to remain viable long-term.
For Castle Rock, the state acted “arbitrarily, capriciously and otherwise unreasonably when they selected Kansas Crossing over Castle Rock.”
Russell Jones, one of the attorneys for Castle Rock, said the appeal to the state Supreme Court is an “opportunity to put on evidence showing the decision … should be reversed.”
“We are looking for an opportunity to have a fair hearing,” he said Wednesday, adding they are asking the court to reverse Hendricks’ decisions and grant the license to Castle Rock.
Kansas Crossing spokesman Garion Masterson, for their part, welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to take cognizance of the case and hoped for its speedy resolution.
Kansas Crossing was scheduled to be completed in June of this year but the lawsuits have delayed the construction. The extensions granted to Kansas Crossing have delayed the opening date to March 31.
Masterson said they are hopeful the matter will end in January.
“I think we’re going to get a conclusion of a lawsuit we feel never had merit, and start generating revenues for the counties and the state of Kansas,” he said.
