Efforts to develop a state-owned casino in southeast Kansas are getting off the ground with a plan that includes a partnership with a nearby casino in Oklahoma.

The state owns casinos in Dodge City, Mulvane and Kansas City, Kansas. But developers have lost interest in the southeast region, partly because of the proximity of the Downstream Casino Resort run by Oklahoma’s Quapaw tribe.

This year, Kansas lowered the required investment from prospective developers and reopened the application process for a contract to build a casino in Crawford or Cherokee county.

The Joplin Globe reports executives of the Quapaw casino and the Ruffin Companies are working together to win the contract. The casino would be built near Frontenac the defunct Camptown Greyhound Park, which Ruffin owns.