Hollywood Casino Expected to Boost Economic Growth in WyCo

By Debra Decoster

Will the Hollywood Casino’s glitz and glamour entice people to spend dollars at the slots or gaming tables this coming Friday February 3, when the casino officially opens? The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas has high hopes that the new Vegas styled casino will bring needed dollars into county coffers and help prop up a city budget that has been going south for the last three years.

The 2012 proposed budget was a no-win situation for the citizens of Wyandotte County. Property taxes were raised 8.9 percent in order to keep the Unified Government from cutting services by ten percent, which would have cut 50 fire fighters and 50 police officers.

The UG is taking a gamble that the new casino, built on Kansas Speedway land, will bring in much needed revenues to help rebuild cash reserves, improve the infrastructure of the city and provide employment for their citizens.

The casino is already in the top ten of employers in Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County. The University of Kansas Hospital tops the list with 4,500 employees followed by General Motors with 3,957 employees and the Kansas City Kansas Public Schools with 3,500. The Unified Government has 1,900 employees, close to the Hollywood Casino’s projected 1,200 to 1,700 employees.

During a recent tour of the Hollywood Casino, Commissioners Ann Murguia and Angela Markley were impressed by the high caliber look and feel of the new facility. “I think this casino will attract a new market that currently isn’t here in the Kansas City metro area,” said Murguia.

Markley liked the amenities that the casino has built into the facility for their employees. “I think the casino will attract a different caliber of young workers because of the amenities they have to offer their employees, the fitness center, the cafeteria, that is things that most employers in this area don’t offer but on the coast that is a big deal,” said Markley.

County Administrator Dennis Hays told Hispanic News that when the casino was being discussed, two of the prominent considerations were the easy access from nearby interstates and the proximity of the Village West complex, which makes the area the largest tourist draw in the state.

As Hays walked through the facility before its public opening, he was happy with the finished product. “It was very exciting to see it and it is a very high quality facility and we are pleased to have Hollywood Casino in our community,” he said.

“There will be one thousand jobs and many of those will be for residents here in Kansas City, Kansas,” added Hays. “Not only do we have the jobs but the activity and the benefit of having thousands of additional customers coming to the northwest Kansas City area. It may directly benefit the casino but it has an indirect benefit of bringing visitors into our city and when they come to the casino, we are hopeful that they will visit the shops surrounding the casino.”

This past Monday the casino held a day of charitable gaming for invited guests with the proceeds benefiting Sunshine House, Inc., a non-profit, United Way agency dedicated to protecting children from physical and sexual abuse and also to the Kansas City, Kansas School Foundation for Excellence. The foundation works to empower and assist Kansas City public schools in the pursuit of becoming one of the top ten school districts in the nation.

The casino is the latest feel good news to come out of WYCO this year. The county has been basking in the announcement that the GM Fairfax Plant in Kansas City, Kansas has committed to help boost the local economy with a planned $20 million investment in its Fairfax Assembly Plant.

When the new Cerner complex opens in Wyandotte County, it will be the second largest employer with 4,000 employees. Construction for the complex is slated to begin next month. At the present time, crews are on site doing preliminary tree removal and grubbing work. The Cerner campus will be built in two phases. Two towers will be built on the property south of the Great Wolf Lodge, and when both towers are complete, the Cerner office complex will have 600,000 square feet of offices.

Cliff Illig, Cerner vice chairman and co-founder, said in a press release that the office project and the opening of the Livestrong Sporting Park and the arrival of Google’s fiber project will boost economic development in the community.

“We plan to leverage the thriving activity in western Wyandotte County to positively impact the health of the communities around us, and we look forward to the construction of our new campus,” said Illig.

The new jobs coupled with established business expansion has WYCO/UG staff hoping that this activity will attract other businesses and families to move into the thriving community.

“The current business growth that is happening in the city will not only bring jobs, but new housing and families to the community. This will truly make Wyandotte County a growing and vital county in the Kansas City metro and a true destination for the entire Midwest,” said Hays.