A Kansas City, Mo., man last week pleaded guilty to stealing at least $100,000 from charities and spending about $72,000 at slot machines at the Prairie Band Casino.

   As the executive director of two Kansas City, Mo., charities, the man had access to the funds, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office from the Western District of Missouri. One Westport neighborhood charity in Kansas City, Mo., had to end its meals-on-wheels program because of the loss, the U.S. attorney’s office stated.

   For every case of problem gambling that hits the news, there are a few more where people lose significant savings that are never heard about. While most of the people who gamble at casinos do so responsibly, the Kansas problem gambling program expects the number of problem gambling cases to increase in the Kansas City area once the new Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway opens to the public Feb. 3. A controlled demonstration at the casino is scheduled Jan. 30, by invitation only.

   If early incidents at the other Kansas state casinos are any indication, the new casino in Kansas City, Kan., will probably be faced with minors who try to sneak into the casino, as well as people on the excluded gaming list who don disguises to sneak into the casino.

   The director of the problem gaming program, Carol Spiker, talked about these situations at the other two new Kansas casinos in her report at the Friday, Jan. 13, meeting of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. 

   The KRGC on Jan. 13 asked the director to find out more information about how problem gambling funding, estimated at more than $7 million in the governor’s budget for the coming year, would be spent by the Social and Rehabilitation Services. The KRGC asked for a quarterly or monthly report from SRS. The KRGC, though, has no control over the funding. William Falstad, chairman of the KRGC, said it wants to make sure the use of the funds is held to high standards.

   The state doesn’t have a good track record in making sure the money gets to where the law says it’s supposed to go, according to financial information. Two percent of the gambling revenues are supposed to address problem gambling, but in the last budget, much of that money was spent by the Legislature on other programs, such as Medicaid and budget shortfalls, and a fraction actually reached problem gamblers counseling.

    Spiker reported at the Jan. 13 meeting that there had been a problem gambling meeting with SRS and there were plans to include printed materials, outreach and funding to continue task forces and public awareness.

   For 2011, statistics from the state’s Problem Gambling Helpline show that 11 calls total were received from Wyandotte County, where the new Hollywood Casino will be located. Johnson County recorded 36 calls, while Sedgwick County, where Wichita is located, had 39 calls, and Shawnee County, where Topeka is located, had 37 calls. Ford County, where the new Boot Hill Casino is located at Dodge City, had only 6 calls.

   During the year, 236 calls were received statewide, Spiker said. She said calls from Johnson County would probably go up more once Hollywood Casino opens in Kansas City, Kan.

   Most of the calls statewide were about casino slots, according to records.

What local community is doing to prepare

   Carla Green, director at the Wyandotte County Regional Prevention Center, said the community has begun preparing for problem gambling. The center received a mini-grant in May of last year that allowed it to get the word out to the few treatment providers in the county about the signs and symptoms of problem gambling, she said. 

   The Wyandotte County RPC is waiting to hear from the state about who will be coordinating the education, treatment and referrals this year at the regional level, she added. “We have not heard anything at all,” she said on Jan. 23.

Warning signs

   According to the KRGC annual report, employees at the casinos are trained to spot the early warning signs of gambling addictions.

   The Kansas Problem Gambling Alliance website lists these warning signs: preoccupation with gambling; talks only about wins, not losses; gambles as a way to escape from problems; hides gambling losses from family members; borrows money to fund gambling; withdrawal from family and friends; and inability to stop or cut back on gambling.

   Persons with any of the warning signs may call the helpline 24 hours a day.

   Residents also are allowed to put themselves on the “voluntary exclusion lists” at state-owned casinos, and can be banned from these casinos for either two years or for lifetime, at their choice. The state helpline number received a total of 14 calls statewide during 2011 from residents asking to be put on the exclusion list. Residents also can ask individual state casinos to be put on the exclusion list.

   The helpline number for the Kansas Problem Gambling Alliance is 800-522-4700 and its website to provide resources for those who have a gambling addiction is www.ksgamblinghelp.com.

   To reach Mary Rupert, editor, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .