The Kansas State Capitol is the state’s greatest architectural treasure, a towering temple of democracy. Taller than the United States Capitol, the 119-year-old building is filled with reminders of Kansas’ outsized role in United States history. A 2,000-pound statue of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the five-star general turned president and a Kansan, stands proudly in the rotunda.
When I visited the Capitol one April evening with Amir Hamja, a photographer, lawmakers were rushing through the limestone halls to leave before the business day ended. Where were they headed, we wondered?
We were in Topeka, Kan., as part of our monthslong investigative project about the growth of legal sports betting in the United States. Since the Supreme Court opened the door to legalize sports gambling in 2018, the industry has exploded.
