Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump tried unsuccessfully to buy a Kansas City casino in 1999, but documents from that aborted effort aren't public because he withdrew his application for a Missouri gaming license.
The Kansas City-based Hale Center for Journalism reports news outlets and the Democratic National Committee are interested in obtaining the records, but they're out of luck.
A Missouri Gaming Commission attorney says the files are protected from public scrutiny under state law because the commission never acted on the application.
Trump offered to pay $15 million for the Hilton Flamingo Casino, which is now the Isle of Capri. But state regulators complained that he wasn't providing information required to receive a state gaming license.
The casino eventually was purchased by a different company for $22.5 million.
