WICHITA — After losing its legal battle to keep its Kandu Challenge card game and facing financial struggles, Highlands Gastropub and Cardroom has closed.
“At some point, you gotta know when you’re beat,” says operations coordinator Shane McCullough.
Last month, Highlands representatives said they hoped to fight a Sedgwick County District Court ruling that Kandu is a game of chance and thus prohibited by Kansas law. They are still planning to appeal the decision.
In the meantime, though, financial problems have been mounting.
McCullough says he doesn’t blame the media, but he says news reports made it sound like when Highlands lost Kandu, the business closed.
“And so people, understandably so, thought we were out of business,” he says.
And those who knew it was still open may have been afraid to come.
“Are they putting themselves in any kind of legal jeopardy or turmoil just by walking through the door?” McCullough says they wondered.
In the middle of trying to weigh what to do, he says a couple of payroll checks bounced this week, including that of the head chef’s. That was the breaking point.
“The odds of overcoming the obstacles in front of us were diminishing,” McCullough says. “There was no longer much hope for a positive future.”
He says Highlands could reopen in another location if there’s a successful court ruling, but that’s potentially a ways off.
“We did not really anticipate them coming after us like they did in the end,” McCullough says of legal authorities. Before Highlands opened in November 2008, he says, “We’d had multiple conversations with the DA and AG and were routinely told they didn’t have a problem with the game.”
The landlord for the Highlands building, which is at 3731 N. Rock Road, is already showing the space.
13 Comments
I knew from day one that it was a dumb idea. What genius thinks it’s a good idea to call up the DA and tell them that you are gambling on a game that is like poker, but it’s a game of skill?
I think Shane McCullough has a point…I had been meaning to try the place, but after reading the last article about the place, I thought they had closed the place down.
Quick… someone call the cops and tell them I plan on speeding later. See if they’re ok with that!
Johns … Below is part of our article on Oct. 10 when the court ruling came down. I don’t think it makes it sound as if the place is closed.
———————————————————————————————–
McCullough said the business, at 3731 N. Rock Road, reopened a couple of weeks ago. The reopening included its restaurant and bar. It also offers two daily Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments.
A planned grand reopening set for today will be held as planned. McCullough had expected the grand reopening to include the return of Kandu Challenge.
AND THIS, LATER IN THE ARTICLE:
He said without Kandu and a lot of customer support, Highlands Gastropub will struggle to remain open.
“We hope that the . . . people that supported our position in this case will be helping us stay in business,” McCullough said.
Dan has a point… Not sure why folks thought it closed. (admittedly, I assumed it did after the last court setback, but nothing in the paper caused that, that I can see)
They were close for a while though, and then re-opened before this last court decision. No wonder people were confused.
*closed
First mistake: Calling it a Gastropub. Nobody had any idea what kind of food to expect. So no walk in buzz about the food. Second mistake: Basing your business model on a card game, that might be illegal. Third Mistake: Closing the first time during the court battle, this really upset folks and turned people off. I played hold’em poker there until the end. Classy people, poor idea.
Good food for the most part, lousy service. Lack of respect for non-smokers, but that doesn’t surprise me considering most of the folks that went there didn’t go to eat. Many took their aircraft paychecks and blew it on poker. You should have seen some of these folks. It was a nice atmosphere w/a sort of trashy element…
I think I am in the majority that, without the card game, the place did not have much to offer. I never played cards there, but did have dinner with my husband. The atmosphere was odd, almost creepy. The food quality and presentation was poor. To add to that, while eating dinner, I was able to have a great seat to observe the gathering of people waiting for their poker seats and watching me eat my dinner.
I don’t have a problem with the card game, but even casinos have zones for different activities. Without the gambling, there was no motivation for anyone to make a return trip…open or not.
>Second mistake: Basing your business model on a card game, that might be illegal
I shook my head when they first opened .. what kind of brain dead folks purposely dare the State to take a close look knowing they could be shut down??
They were not .. not the first to try this. Had they studied Wichita history just a tad bit they would have found it’s been tried and failed before.
Poker is a game, of skill, chance, and intimidation.
There may be chance involved. But chance doesn’t explain why the same group of poker pros, can end up making a very good living off it.
Year after year.