The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma opened a massive casino to large crowds over the July 4 weekend and the development could force one of the nation's largest gaming companies to drop a casino bid in Kansas.

Penn National Gaming is bidding to operate casinos in Cherokee County and Sumner County in Kansas. But the company might drop its Cherokee County bid due to competition from the new Quapaw casino.

"The problem is that if we were competing on a level playing field, that's something we’d consider," said Eric Schippers, a Penn National executive, The Pittsburg Morning Sun reported, "However, the tribe has significant competitive advantages. We have to pay a corporate income tax, a federal income tax, whereas the tribes don't have to pay some of those taxes. The tribes can spend that extra money on promotions."

The tribe's $301 million Downstream Casino Resort is located in parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. The Kansas portion is adjacent to Penn National's proposed gaming site.

Get the Story:
Penn National Gaming casts doubt on Cherokee County project (The Joplin Globe 7/10)
Gaming meeting hears Penn proposal (The Pittsburg Morning Sun 7/10)