The Kansas Star Casino is a casino and hotel in western

Mulvane, Kansas Mulvane is a city in Sedgwick and Sumner counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,286. History Mulvane was laid out in 1879 at the junction of five Santa Fe rail lines. It is named for ...

, United States, owned and managed by

Boyd Gaming Boyd Gaming Corporation is an American gaming and hospitality company based in Paradise, Nevada. The company continues to be run by founder Sam Boyd's family under the management of Sam's son, Bill Boyd (born 1931), who currently serves as the ...

. It is located on the west side of the I-35 (

Kansas Turnpike The Kansas Turnpike is a , freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely within the US state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest–northeast direction from the Oklahoma border to Kansas City. It passes through several major Kansas cities, ...

). The resort includes the Kansas Star Arena, a multipurpose entertainment venue that hosts concerts, pageants, and various athletic and equestrian events.

History

Proposals and development

In 2007, the state enacted the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act, which included authorization for four casinos to be built and managed by private developers, under contract with the

Kansas Lottery The Kansas Lottery is a government organization run by the government of Kansas. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). The mission of the lottery is to produce the maximum revenue for Kansas while insuring the int ...

. One of the casinos was allocated to the Wichita area ( Sedgwick and Sumner Counties). The law required a local referendum in each county before a casino could be approved. This requirement was waived for Sumner County because it had passed an advisory measure in favor of casino gaming in 2005. The referendum failed in Sedgwick County, leaving Sumner County as the area's only possible casino site. Casino proposals in Sumner County were divided between

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, the largest town in the county, and Mulvane, which was 14 miles closer to the area's main population center, Wichita. The first round of proposals in 2008 resulted in the selection of

Harrah's Entertainment Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven g ...

over two other bidders, but Harrah's then withdrew because of factors stemming from the

financial crisis of 2007–2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

. A new selection process opened in 2009 and drew three applicants, but all eventually withdrew their proposals. A third bidding process opened in April 2010, again drawing three bidders. Harrah's and Peninsula Gaming each proposed a casino to be built in Mulvane, and Global Gaming proposed a casino in Wellington. Harrah's again withdrew its application, and Peninsula Gaming was then selected as the winner over Global Gaming in December 2010.

Opening to 2022

The casino opened in a temporary facility on December 26, 2011. The permanent casino facility opened in December 2012. The property's hotel, a

Hampton Inn Hampton by Hilton, formerly known (and still commonly referred to) as Hampton Inn or Hampton Inn & Suites, is an American chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, budget to midscale ...

, opened with 150 rooms in October 2012, and expanded to 300 rooms in August 2014. The temporary casino building was converted to its permanent use as a 3,400-seat arena, with an inaugural concert by Daughtry in June 2013. In 2017, Kansas Attorney General

Derek Schmidt Derek Larkin Schmidt (born January 23, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who has been the Kansas Attorney General since 2011. A Republican, Schmidt was first elected to office serving in the Kansas Senate, where he represented the 15 ...

"issued an opinion saying that allowing a revote on Wichita’s Greyhound Park may breach the state’s contract with the Kansas Star casino in Mulvane," potentially resulting in the casino needing to be repaid by the state for privilege fee or other damages. It was one of four state-owned casinos to be mandated to close on March 17, 2020 by the

, in response to the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. It re-opened May 22, 2020 after orders from Kansas Governor

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,''

, at reduced capacity to allow for social distancing to comply with health orders, and with a limit to only slot machines, as well as employees undergoing temperature checks and wearing face coverings. Visitors had social distancing enforced and had their temperatures checked. On Jan 26, 2021, the casino held a vaccine event offering Pfizer and Moderna. In early 2021 because of COVID-19, revenue was down 24 percent. Overall, revenue declined by around $45 million by February 14, 2021, to $141.4 million in 2020, down from $186.4 million in 2019. In 2021, it was reported by the City of Mulvane that the casino since its 2012 opening had "challenged its valuation every year" for tax assessments. Rulings were only passed down in 2012, 2013 and 2015 in those years, with the casino occasionally refunded overpaid taxes. In 2021, when the city received less in taxes from the casino and had to return around $1 million in back property taxes to the casino, it was reported that the city's budget had to be re-organized for 2022. Other taxing entities for the casino, including Sumner County, were affected as well. For 2021, the Wichita Force indoor football team officially relocated to the Kansas Star Arena. In February 2021, it was reported that Kansas Star Casino had opened in Sumner County instead of Sedgwick County because of Sedgwick county's local laws against gambling. That month, a new casino opened about thirty miles from Kansas Star in Sedgwick County, despite legal battles from the city of Mulvane and Sumner County to stop it from opening. The State of Kansas also had sued the new casino, while still owning the Kansas Star Casino as competition. An appeal was filed in August 2021.

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

performed at the Kansas Star Arena in December 2021. In January 2022 after a downward trend in 2021, the casino posted its highest gambling revenue monthly in December in over seven months. It was the highest since April 2021. In December 2021, monthly revenue had been $14.8 million, translating with a 1% monthly revenue share to about $150,000 for the city of Mulvane.

Facilities

The casino has several eateries and bars, including a buffet, a steakhouse, and an Asian restaurant. When the casino's main building opened, it contained the Fire Club, named for "its signature fireplace" - akin to a skybox, it overlooks the arena and measures 3,200 square feet with a bar and patio. The arena opened afterwards in July 2013 with seating for up to 5,000. The Kansas Star Arena is a multipurpose entertainment venue that has hosted concerts by notable performing artists, as well as the

Miss Kansas USA The Miss Kansas USA pageant is a competition that selects the representative for the state of Kansas in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant is directed by Vanbros and Associates, headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas. In 1992, the state joined the Va ...

pageant, mixed martial arts events by Bellator MMA, and equestrian events such as the

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) is the largest rodeo organization in the world. It sanctions events in the United States and Canada, with members from said countries, as well as others. Its championship event is the National ...

’s

National Finals Steer Roping The National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR), organized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), is the premier championship steer roping event in the United States. It showcases the talents of the PRCA's top 15 money-winners in the steer ro ...

. In 2021, the

Wichita Force The Wichita Force are a professional indoor football team based in Wichita, Kansas, with home games in Wichita Ice Center. The team was founded in 2014 as an expansion franchise in the Champions Indoor Football league for the 2015 season. The Fo ...

professional indoor football team played home games in the arena. The Event Center Ballroom is a smaller theater that presents more intimate shows. On 4 September 2021, the venue hosted a "Rock of the 70s" show with a lineup including

Foghat Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. The band has achieved eight gold records, one platinum and one double platinum record, and despite several line-up ...

. In September 2021, it was announced Boyz II Men would be performing next spring.

References

External links

* * , from ''Hatteberg's People'' on

KAKE KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and its transmitter is located in ...