Latest news with #KansasLottery
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gambling machines at Kansas businesses: legal or illegal?
TOPEKA (KSNT) – 27 News reached out to the Kansas Lottery Commission and the Kansas Racing & Gaming Commission (KRGC) to learn about certain electronic gambling machines that have been popping up at businesses like gas stations and smoke shops in Kansas. Cory Thone with the Kansas Lottery Commission said the Kansas Lottery doesn't have any slot-style games or electronic gambling machines in convenience or grocery stores. He said Kansas Lottery machines are branded with the Kansas Lottery logo. 'The machines you describe may either be illegal or exist in a 'gray area,' where the amount of skill involved in playing the game is argued by the manufacturer to make them legal,' Thone said. In Kansas, the authority that investigates 'gray area' machines is the KRGC. Staff Attorney for the KRGC Eleazar Hazel said some gray machines operate outside of the law by asserting that the outcome of the machine relies on skill rather than chance. Woman charged in connection to deadly car vs. home crash in Topeka 'Currently available information can confirm for certain that our agency was involved in at least seven seizures of machines in 2024,' Hazel said. 'However, KRGC also assisted local law enforcement in the seizure of additional machines.' In 2007, the Kansas Legislature passed the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act (KELA) which made the KRGC the primary coordinator for state-wide gambling complaints. The KRGC lacks the authority to prosecute illegal gambling crimes, so it utilizes civil asset seizure and forfeiture under the Kansas Standard Asset Seizure and Forfeiture Act and coordinates with local and state law enforcement. 'KRGC attorneys respond to every inquiry and forward reports of illegal gambling operations to the agency's law enforcement agents for further investigation,' KELA wrote in a 2023 report. 'In addition to public inquiries, KRGC receives many inquiries from law enforcement agencies, government attorneys, defense attorneys, and media outlets throughout the state wanting more information on gambling laws and related legislative bills.' According to Hazel, the KRGC has been involved in the seizure of over 1,200 illegal gambling machines since 2013. The agency has received over 800 complaints related to gambling machines since 2007 and seized over 40 machines in 2023 alone. Big Red One sending troops to D.C. Birthday Parade According to the 2023 annual report, that year, 13 illegal gambling machines were forfeited to the KRGC for training or destruction. From 2013 to 2023, over $830,000 in illegal-gambling-related cash was seized by the KRGC. You can refer questionable machines to the KRGC or your local law enforcement office. You can learn more about illegal gambling in Kansas by visiting the KRGC website here. For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas Lottery winners hit big, raking in more than $2M
KANSAS CITY, MO. — A number of Kansas residents are rolling in dough after hitting big in the Kansas Lottery. KC leaders looking to fill vacant businesses ahead of KC2026 World Cup Multiple lottery winners have come forward over the last few months, according to the Kansas Lottery, including one $1 million raffle winner from January. Months have flown by since the Holiday Millionaire Raffle winner was announced, and now one lucky person has cashed in their ticket. The lucky raffle winner purchased their ticket from a QuickTrip gas station in Wichita. New comedy club opening at the Legends Outlets this month Another $1 million winning ticket was purchased from a Casey's General Store in Salina. Since January, the state has also seen a number of $20,000 Lotto America winners. The Lotto America and Powerball drawings will take place Wednesday evening leaving more than $30 million up for grabs. 'Keep being kind': Kansas City bartender's act of kindness saves woman's life Not Wednesday's lucky winner? Kansas and Missouri residents can find more ways to play and win on both the Missouri Lottery and Kansas Lottery websites. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wichita player quietly claims $1M lottery prize
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Someone in Wichita is kicking off summer $1 million richer. The winner of the Kansas Lottery's Holiday Millionaire Raffle quietly claimed their $1 million prize in late May—months after the winning numbers were announced in January. The ticket was sold at the QuikTrip at 1620 S. Webb Rd. The winner has chosen to remain anonymous. Should Evergy raise costs for Kansas customers? They're not the only Kansan hitting it big. A $1 million Powerball ticket was recently claimed in Salina. That ticket was sold at Casey's General Store at 1100 E. Iron Ave. Like the Wichita winner, the Salina player is staying out of the spotlight. The Kansas Lottery says both wins are part of a recent streak of major prizes across the state, including several $20,000 Lotto America winners in May. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
San Francisco Chronicle
27-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Missouri to hold special session on aid for tornado victims plus Chiefs and Royals stadiums
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers are to kick off a special session Monday to consider aid for tornado victims and a package of financial incentives aimed at keeping the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals from leaving the state for new or improved facilities in neighboring Kansas. Gov. Mike Kehoe announced the special session Tuesday, less than two weeks after a deadly tornado hit St. Louis and the Legislature wrapped up its work without giving final approval to a late-developing plan that would authorize state bonds for the Chiefs and Royals valued at up to half the cost of the stadium projects. Missouri officials are scrambling to come up with an offer because Kansas lawmakers last year authorized bonds for up to 70% of the cost of new stadiums, paying them off over 30 years with revenues from sports betting, Kansas Lottery ticket sales, and new sales and alcohol taxes. 'If Missouri does not put some sort of offer forward,' Kehoe said, 'I think the risk is real that they don't stay here.' The Chiefs and Royals have played professional football and baseball for five decades in side-by-side stadiums in eastern Kansas City in Jackson County, Missouri, drawing fans from both sides of the split metropolitan area. Their stadium leases run until 2031, and Royals owner John Sherman has said the team won't play at Kauffman Stadium beyond the 2030 season. Jackson County voters turned down a sales tax extension last year that would have helped finance a $2 billion ballpark district for the Royals in downtown Kansas City and an $800 million renovation of the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium. That prompted Kansas officials to put together an offer and forced Missouri officials to recalculate their plans. The Chiefs and Royals are part of a new round of stadium construction that is underway for professional sports teams across the U.S., with taxpayers often helping to pay the multibillion-dollar tabs. Many economists contend public funding for stadiums isn't worth it, because sports tend to divert discretionary spending away from other forms of entertainment rather than generate new income. But Kehoe said the teams drive 'billions of dollars in economic activity and tourism.' Supporters of the projects also point to the sense of community and national attention that sports teams can bring, noting the three recent Super Bowls won by the Chiefs and the Royals' World Series title a decade ago. The proposal would allow Missouri to make 30 years of bond payments equal to the annual state tax revenue generated by the teams in the year before their application for state aid. It also authorizes up to $50 million of tax credits for the stadium projects. Local governments also would have to provide some aid for the teams. The location and total cost of the projects are not specified in the proposal. The prospects for a special session are uncertain because of tensions in the Missouri Senate. In the final days of the regular session, majority Republicans used rare procedural moves to shut down Democratic opposition and force passage of two measures. One repeals a paid sick leave law approved last November by votes. The other authorizes a referendum on repealing a voter-approved abortion-rights amendment. Democrats vowed to retaliate by slowing down the Senate for a year to come. The day after the Legislature wrapped up its work, tornadoes struck St. Louis and other parts of Missouri, capping a series of severe storms that also caused damage in March and April. Kehoe is proposing a $5,000 income tax deduction to help offset the cost of insurance policy deductibles for affected people and $25 million to expand eligibility for a state emergency housing assistance program for people living in areas covered by state requests for presidential disaster declarations. Kehoe's special session agenda also includes spending on constructions projects around the state, including $25 million to help fund a research nuclear reactor at the University of Missouri. That's half the amount that was included in a budget bill that failed to pass the House amid concerns about state spending and conflicts with the Senate. Other proposed projects include a 200-bed mental health facility in Kansas City and new livestock barns at the Missouri State Fairgrounds.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Missouri to hold special session on aid for tornado victims plus Chiefs and Royals stadiums
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers are to kick off a special session Monday to consider aid for tornado victims and a package of financial incentives aimed at keeping the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals from leaving the state for new or improved facilities in neighboring Kansas. Gov. Mike Kehoe announced the special session Tuesday, less than two weeks after a deadly tornado hit St. Louis and the Legislature wrapped up its work without giving final approval to a late-developing plan that would authorize state bonds for the Chiefs and Royals valued at up to half the cost of the stadium projects. Missouri officials are scrambling to come up with an offer because Kansas lawmakers last year authorized bonds for up to 70% of the cost of new stadiums, paying them off over 30 years with revenues from sports betting, Kansas Lottery ticket sales, and new sales and alcohol taxes. The Chiefs and Royals have played professional football and baseball for five decades in side-by-side stadiums in eastern Kansas City in Jackson County, Missouri, drawing fans from both sides of the split metropolitan area. Their stadium leases run until 2031, and Royals owner John Sherman has said the team won't play at Kauffman Stadium beyond the 2030 season. Jackson County voters turned down a sales tax extension last year that would have helped finance a $2 billion ballpark district for the Royals in downtown Kansas City and an $800 million renovation of the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium. That prompted Kansas officials to put together an offer and forced Missouri officials to recalculate their plans. The Chiefs and Royals are part of a new round of stadium construction that is underway for professional sports teams across the U.S., with taxpayers often helping to pay the multibillion-dollar tabs. Many economists contend public funding for stadiums isn't worth it, because sports tend to divert discretionary spending away from other forms of entertainment rather than generate new income. But Kehoe said the teams provide a major economic benefit. Supporters of the projects also point to the sense of community and national attention that sports teams can bring, noting the three recent Super Bowls won by the Chiefs and the Royals' World Series title a decade ago.
