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Kansas Liberty: 22 July 2008
Officials say state's take from slot machines was too high
Woodlands to close Aug. 24
“There goes Woody!”
The Woodlands horse and dog track in Kansas City is closing Aug. 24.
“The pari-mutuel industry has faced declining revenues for years and the Woodlands has been no exception, operating at a financial loss for quite some time,” said Howard T. Grace, president of Kansas Racing LLC, in a press release.
Grace left open the possibility that the Woodlands, the only dual track racing facility in the U.S., could re-open if it can convince the state to revise its gaming law.
Woodlands officials had been negotiating with the Kansas Gaming and Racing Commission on a deal that would have brought 800 slot machines to the track. But track officials indicated last week at a meeting of the Gaming and Racing Commission that they believed the percentage that would have gone to the state – 40 percent – was too high to make installation of slots profitable for track owners.
Even if the state had ponied up an additional 15 percent, as was discussed, track officials said the deal still would not have been workable.
The Woodlands has been struggling to survive since casinos were allowed to locate just across the state line in Missouri.
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