By
Jane Shaw
Senior Editor Updated: 02/19/2024
We count on Jane to inform our readers about the latest slot games in the US market. With her passion for video games and a degree in engineering, she’s our gambling tech expert. Jane’s also active in our blog section, where she tackles the curiosities and changes in the industry.
Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway
It has been reported that the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, which falls under the ownership of Penn Entertainment, has once again missed a crucial deadline for the construction of an adjacent hotel. This marks the tenth consecutive delay since the initial commitment to build a hotel was made over a decade ago.
Initially, when Penn Entertainment was granted the rights to develop what eventually became Hollywood Casino at NASCAR’s Kansas Speedway, it also promised to construct a hotel within two years of the casino’s opening. However, despite numerous assurances and promises, the hotel has failed to materialize more than ten years after the deadline.
The terms of the agreement were established in 2009 with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City (WyCo & KCK). Kansas Entertainment LLC, which is a joint venture between Penn and International Speedway Corp., then committed to constructing a hotel tower offering a minimum of 200 rooms.
In exchange for this development, the project received special financing through STAR bonds from WyCo & KCK. These bonds are specifically designed to fund the advancement of major commercial, entertainment, and tourism ventures.
The continued delays have resulted in ongoing hefty fines for Kansas Entertainment. As per the agreement, construction on the hotel was supposed to begin within two years of the casino’s inauguration in February 2014.
However, with each passing year, the promised construction failed to materialize. This led to massive financial penalties, and Kansas Entertainment LLC has now been fined $13 million in accumulated fines for missing ten deadlines in a row.
Initially, Kansas Entertainment LLC said that it would commence construction on the hotel in October 2014, with later revisions suggesting a 2015 start date. The company said that construction would be based on the findings of an economic study. However, later that year, the developer blamed economic conditions in the region’s hotel industry as justification for postponing the project indefinitely.
Penn officials have said that they are continuing to evaluate opportunities for the hotel construction adjacent to Hollywood Casino.
Jeff Morris, Penn’s Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations, said:
As part of that evaluation, we consider the existing infrastructure and occupancy rates of neighboring and nearby hotels, as well as the marketing partnerships we have developed with these businesses over the years.
However, some believe that the company prefers to just continue being hit with financial penalties. Wyandotte County Administrator David Johnston reportedly claimed that Kansas Entertainment LLC seemed content with paying the fines, hinting that this pattern might continue into the foreseeable future.
He added that many people thought that there was a ten-year window for the hotel to be constructed, but this was not the case. According to Johnston, the situation will only come to an end when the hotel is finally constructed, but there is no indication as to when that might be.
Once the hotel is constructed, it could bring more visitors and jobs to the area, so it is something that a lot of people are keen to see.
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