Casino Threatens Pullout if Smoking Ban Enacted

The president of Kansas Speedway suggested Thursday night that developers might not build the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino if Wyandotte County banned smoking on casino floors.

Jeff Boerger said in a public hearing at City Hall that there were a lot of nervous people at International Speedway Corp., the speedway’s parent, who expected that the casino would be built next to Kansas Speedway.

Revenue projections, Boerger said, have assumed that the casino would not be subjected to a smoking ban, and if one were adopted, the project’s developers would have to go back to the drawing board. The speedway is a 50-50 partner with the Cordish Co. in the casino project.

The county’s Unified Board of Commissioners did not act on the proposal Thursday night, and has yet to schedule a vote. Kansas City, Kan., remains the largest city in the metropolitan area without an indoor smoking ban.

For the full story, please see Mark Wiebe, Casino may not be built if smoking ban is imposed in Wyandotte County The Kansas City Star, October 17, 2008.