Kansas Lawmaker Blasted for Killing Gaming Compact

KANSAS – As reported by the Native Times: "Officials with two tribes are blasting a Kansas lawmaker who effectively killed a gaming compact.

"House Speaker Doug Mays blocked an attempt to ratify a compact between Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas and the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska to build a $210 million casino and hotel in Wyandotte County. Mays, the chairman of the Legislative Coordinating Council, did not place the compact on the agenda. The move means the measure cannot be considered until next year.

"Mays is coming under fire from tribes and his own colleagues.

"…House Speaker Pro Tem John Ballou said Mays was 'hiding from an open and honest debate on gambling.'

"Mays, a Republican from Topeka, claimed he didn't want the seven-member council to be the ones to decide this issue. Tribal officials countered that the compact has been negotiated for three years and has the approval of a variety of groups including the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO and Kansas AFL-CIO…"