The casino is to be built in Crawford or Cherokee county. The deadline had already been extended once.
Lottery executive director Ed Van Petten said the sluggish economy and required minimum investment of us$ 250 million has kept applicants away.
Penn National Gaming was awarded a contract for a Cherokee County casino last year. But the company later walked away from the project, saying it would be unable to compete with a new tribal casino just over the state line in Oklahoma.