Cherokee County officials are taking into consideration a $7.25 million tentative settlement provide to end a dispute over a planned state-owned casino that was under no circumstances built inside the county.
Penn National Gaming created the supply to settle a $53 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Cherokee County in 2008 just after the organization pulled out of plans to create a casino in southeast Kansas. The settlement, which ought to nonetheless be formally authorized by the commission along with a judge, involves $4.75 million in cash and 200 acres of land where the casino was to be built.
Soon after attorney’s charges are subtracted, the county should really acquire about $4.7 million if it accepts the deal.
Penn National officials cited competition from the Quapaw Tribe’s Downstream Casino Resort, just towards the south from the web page from the proposed Kansas casino, as the cause it withdrew from the plan soon after becoming awarded a state contract for southeast Kansas.
Shawnee County Judge Franklin Theis in November accepted the county’s argument that Penn National backed out of the casino deal soon after deciding it could make more funds elsewhere. Penn National now has the contract to operate a state-owned casino in Kansas City, Kan.
Cherokee County Commissioner Richard Hilderbrand stated Monday that proceeding to trial more than the lawsuit was too risky due to the fact Penn National would be able to file expensive and time-consuming appeals.
“We’re prepared to have it behind us and start out moving forward,” he stated.
He said the commission has not discussed feasible makes use of for your land and he doesn’t know of any interest from other casino firms. Commissioners previously have discussed utilizing any settlement for property-tax relief, but Hilderbrand mentioned they have not talked about that recently.
Eric Schippers, Penn National’s vice president for public affairs, stated that the company would not comment till the settlement is final.
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