WYANDOTTE COUNTY, Kan. - The Cordish Company would like to build a $380 million dollar casino in Wyandotte County, but their reputation on the Missouri side could hurt them in Kansas.
"We want a group that's going to be sensitive to the diversity in our community," County Commissioner Mark Holland said.
Holland is one of 10 Wyandotte County commissioners reviewing two proposals to build a destination casino in western Wyandotte County.
"I'm still open minded on both of them," Holland said.
The Cordish Company, which also owns the Kansas City Power & Light District, is one of the developers.
"We're looking at how things are going in Missouri and their reputations around the country," Holland explained.
The final say on the project will come from a Kansas Lottery Gaming review board. One of the board's key requirements is that the project is in the best interest of Kansas.
Some wonder if the Cordish Company meets that requirement.
The Power & Light's dress code has been under fire since June 2008. Critics claim the code discriminates against African American men. And last Saturday night,
hip-hop icon DJ Jazzy Jeff blogged that he was kicked off stage because he was playing hip-hop music.
"I doubt DJ Jazzy Jeff even knew what was occurring with his production team," P&L District President John Stephens said.
Stephens said audio levels, not rap music was the problem. He's optimistic that this misunderstanding will not affect future concerts or projects.
Wyandotte County commissioners promise to look at the issue closely.
"We take very seriously the diversity of our community we celebrate the diversity of community and anyone who's not going to be a partner in working with the diversity of our community is not going to be a partner here," said Holland.
The Unified Government will decide on Thursday which proposal they'll endorse.
The review board expects to begin their process by the first of July.
