Pittsburg city officials and community leaders say they are happy with their partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino & Hotel, even though the casino fell short of its projected gaming revenue.
When the casino was recommended by the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board in 2015, Kansas Crossing’s projected total gross gaming revenue was $47.2 million annually.
However in 2018, the business made $34.3 million, according to officials with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, which is $12.9 million, or 27 percent short its original goal.
Crawford County, Cherokee County and the city of Pittsburg each receive 1 percent of the casino’s overall revenue as part of an agreement.
“I don’t care what projections they had when they were bidding against the other competitors because I’m pretty sure everyone had their pencils out and were dialing out the best number they could come up with,” Daron Hall, Pittsburg city manager, said last week. “For us, it’s the simple matter of seeing how they opened and then what they’re trending now. Their trending is up considerably from month to month, year to year.”
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