Topeka Capital-Journal, The: Casino far from sure bet

Here's a recent newspaper headline I'd have bet --- literally --- I'd never see:

"Wichita's Bob Knight pitches casinos for Marion County."

The accompanying story in this week's Hillsboro Free Press describes an effort by Knight, the former Wichita mayor and gubernatorial candidate, to bring a $300 million casino, not to mention 2,500 new jobs, to the predominantly rural central Kansas county.

I don't know whether a casino carved into a wheat field outside Hillsboro or Marion is a bigger pipe dream than a minor league baseball stadium in downtown Topeka, but Knight's pitch was persuasive enough to convince the Marion County Commission. County residents will get a chance to vote on the plan later this year.

This story strikes home because, well, Marion County is home. I grew up there, attended high school there, buried my parents there. Those are good people out there --- I'm only half-joking when I refer to it as God's country. Many of them are farmers, many are devout church-goers. Not exactly Las Vegas or Atlantic City. Marion County is hardly the kind of place I'd ever envisioned for a gambling resort, although Mayetta wasn't exactly my first choice, either.

I'm guessing the chances of my sister, who lives in Hillsboro, being able some day to visit the casino over her lunch hour are remote, at best. I can't imagine a majority of farmers and small- town residents approving gambling, even if it would mean, as Knight and his group predict, an annual payroll of between $75 million and $100 million.

But the lure of gambling's huge profits are enticing, as I expect we'll be reminded when the Legislature returns in January. A casino in Marion County would have, Knight says, "dramatic consequences" for the local economy.

The Free Press, one of the finest weekly papers around, is dubious, to say the least. Editor Don Ratzlaff, in this week's lead editorial, questioned the project under the headline "Siren song?" Ratzlaff noted the appearance of Knight at the Marion County Board of Commissioners meeting was strange enough, then adds, "The only thing stranger is the notion of a ritzy casino resort springing up in the pastures of Marion County --- as if we haven't already gambled our economic livelihood on the prospect of a good wheat crop year after year."

On the flip side, country residents wouldn't have to worry about new taxes or bond issues. Investors would pay for everything. That's part of the siren song.

Marion County voters ultimately will decide, as they should. Knight, who also is shopping the concept to neighboring Harvey County, needs a decision by Jan. 1 so he can begin the necessary steps to gain state approval for the gambling project.

I'll bet in Marion County he'll shoot craps.

Pete Goering, executive editor of The Capital-Journal, writes a column on Sunday and Thursday. He can be reached at (785) 295-1191 or pete.goering@cjonline.com.