It wasn’t on the agenda but a question by a member of the Geary County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Advisory Committee Tuesday prompted a discussion about the issue of possibly attracting a casino to Junction City.

The Chamber of Commerce has been studying the issue, but has not taken a formal stance on the effort to try and have Geary County designated as a future site for a state owned casino.

Ben Bennett, who sits on the CVB, Chamber Board, and Geary County Commission, stated that there is a “strong movement afoot against it.” He indicated that effort involves a minority of the community, but they have leadership positions in the community.

Bennett noted that Fort Riley people have told him they have the workforce for a casino, but others said the command staff was not in favor of it.

Bennett said he has not made up his own mind on the issue, and added he does not gamble himself. “But I don’t know that I can stop anybody from gambling. I think it would be really good if there were some way that the casinos that are on federal reservations were taxed. People say Fort Riley people shouldn’t have the casino to spend, yet Fort Riley runs some very big gambling operations like bingo, those type of things when they want to.”

State Representative Allan Rothlisberg expects to get a hearing before a Kansas House committee in February on his proposed legislation to have Geary County designated as a future north central Kansas site for a casino.

It was noted during the discussion at the CVB meeting the members of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors have differing opinions on the subject. A survey done by the chamber recently received more than 160 responses with more than 75 percent saying they were in favor of a casino.

Bennett reported the smaller cities of Dodge City and Mulvane where casinos were installed are thriving.

It was noted the casino in Dodge City attracted lodging adjacent to it along with shops and restaurants. A new large arena is also located nearby. But one CVB member board also expressed a desire not to see any more hotels with a casino project in Junction City.

The CVB Board is an advisory committee under the auspices of the Chamber of the Commerce.