Hollywood Casino at Kansas City Speedway Plans Hotel After Decade of Waiting
Date: 2024-10-02 Author: Leon Pierce Categories: CASINO
The hotel could become a reality
The Hollywood Casino opened in 2012 and, under an agreement with the Unified Government, planned to begin construction on the hotel two years later. However, due to changes in Kansas tax laws, the project was not implemented.
In addition, the developers cited studies that suggested the new hotel could negatively affect existing hotels in the area.
The 250-room, $200 million hotel was originally planned, but the project was put on hold. As a result, Hollywood Casino paid the government 1% of its annual revenue as compensation for unrealized tax growth. By the end of 2023, the casino had paid millions in fines.
However, after a decade of waiting, the casino is considering building again. The decision to renew the project is tied to the extension of the casino management contract.
"The timing is right," according to casino executives
The new hotel plans were unveiled Monday. Aaron Rosenthal, Penn's senior vice president of regional operations, said the company believes now is the right time to move forward with the project. He stressed that the hotel plans had been on the table and discussed annually, but for a number of reasons, they had not been feasible until now.
"This is something we've been thinking about since before the casino opened, and we've been reconsidering it every year. Now it's a reality for us."
Aaron Rosenthal, Penn's senior vice president
The new proposal would have at least 125 rooms and would be completed by 2026. While the number of rooms is down from the original plan, the company hasn't ruled out the possibility of expanding the hotel in the future.
One of the benefits of the new hotel would be the creation of hundreds of permanent and temporary jobs.
Penn officials tried to negotiate a two-year grace period for fines until construction on the hotel began, but the idea failed to gain traction with local officials.
