WICHITA, Kan. — Kansas leaders' dream of state-owned casinos drawing visitors and much-needed revenue to the Sunflower State are on hold while Indian-owned casinos in Oklahoma are flourishing.

Tribal casinos, which secured their financing before the economy went into a tailspin, are shedding their unsophisticated past and vigorously going after the gamblers Kansas eventually wants to grab and hold onto.

Problems in the financial markets forced developers in three of Kansas' four gaming zones to scrap their plans. That has forced the state to restart the process, falling further behind its southern neighbor and — potentially — competitor.

Kansas Lottery director Ed Van Petten said he doesn't think Oklahoma's head start will affect plans in Sumner or Wyandotte counties.

"Right now it's more an economic problem than a competition problem," Van Petten said.

Oklahoma's growing roster of casinos, however, will certainly be a temptation to visitors determining where to place their bets.

East of Tulsa, the Cherokee Casino Resort in Catoosa is rebranding itself as a Hard Rock casino and is completing a $155 million expansion, hoping to draw out-of-state visitors and build customer loyalty.

In northeast Oklahoma, the Quapaw Tribe's $301 million Downstream Casino Resort has already made its presence felt in Kansas, forcing Penn National Gaming to give up on building a casino in neighboring Cherokee County. The Downstream, only 65 feet from the Kansas border, features a 222-room hotel, five restaurants, an outdoor concert venue and a 36-hole golf course.

The tribe is considering a second phase that would include another hotel and may even expand into Cherokee County, where it owns several hundred acres.

The Quapaw Tribe said it may even bid on one of the open Kansas gaming zones.

"I think it's always possible, but we're not making a big commitment or effort to get there," said John Berrey, Quapaw tribal chairman and chairman of the Downstream Development Authority, which owns and operates the casino. "We're just sort of looking at every possibility."

Companies have until April 21 to offer Kansas officials a plan to build a casino in Cherokee County after no one submitted a bid by Jan. 21. But Berrey said he doesn't think anyone will meet that deadline either.

Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill to reduce the minimum investment for the Cherokee County gaming zone from $225 million to $50 million, matching the minimum set for a casino in Dodge City.

Berrey said the tribe, as a Cherokee County property owner, regrets that Penn officials backed out of their casino plans for Cherokee County and that no one has replaced them.

"It would add to our customer base, and we think it would be a lot of fun," he said.

In Catoosa, the Cherokee Casino Resort has added 30,000 square feet to its casino floor for 800 new slot machines and an 80-foot-long bar made of solid ice. This spring, it will open a 19-story, 200-room hotel made up mostly of luxury megasuites, a multipurpose theater and events center, and a convention center.

In Tulsa, the Creek Nation plans in March to open the first phase of a $195 million casino, including 2,800 slots, 24 gaming tables and several restaurants. The second phase will include a hotel and convention center.

Far to the south, the Chickasaw Nation's WinStar World Casino in Thackerville has doubled the size of its casino floor to 519,0000 square feet and tripled the number of slot machines.

The Pawnee Nation is looking to build a resort on 800 acres near Chilocco, south of Arkansas City, that would include 1,200 slots, 24 tables, multiple restaurants, a 150-room hotel, a golf course and an events center.

Such a casino could hurt plans for a casino just over the Kansas state line in neighboring Sumner County. Consultants hired by the state last year estimated that a Chilocco casino would reduce annual revenue for a casino in Wellington by up to $10.5 million while trimming annual revenue for a casino in Mulvane by up to $6.7 million.

In total, Oklahoma casinos raked in $2.5 billion in revenue last year, a 22.5 percent increase from 2007, according to Casino City's Indian Gaming Industry Report. The casinos have done better after being allowed to use Las Vegas-type slot machines in addition to their more traditional bingo-based games.

David Stewart, chief executive of Cherokee Nation Enterprises, which operates the Catoosa casino, said Oklahoma gambling hasn't seen the steep drops the economy has inflicted on Las Vegas. The state's strong oil and gas business has provided some insulation and many local and regional gamblers are sticking close to home to save money.

But Stewart said the casinos aren't seeing the big annual jumps they used to expect.

"The 30 to 40 percent (revenue) increases are over," he said. "That's when plans for growth flourished."

It helps that the state of Oklahoma charges the tribes only 6 percent of their gaming revenue through gaming compact fees. Kansas casino operators will have to fork over 22 percent in taxes to the state and even more to local governments.

Stewart said that will give Kansas casinos less money to pour back into their operations, making them less competitive with their Oklahoma brethren. In fact, Penn National Gaming blamed the disparity as part of its reason to backing out on the Cherokee County casino.

Van Petten said it will be difficult to find a replacement in Cherokee County, but he expressed optimism in finding replacements in the other regions.

"I think the south-central and northeast zones can pretty much stand on their own, based on the business and tourism interests in close proximity, as well as south-central being on the main thoroughfare, I-35," he said.

In any event, the economy will likely cause developers to propose smaller casinos in Kansas that would be built in several phases over time. Bidders for Sumner and Wyandotte county casinos have until April 1 to submit their plans, but it's unlikely they'll match the original $500 million to $700 million proposals.