Phil Ruffin Wins Kansas Historical Horse Racing License, Will Open Casino in Wichita

Billionaire Phil Ruffin, 88, has wanted to open up a gambling casino in his place res publica of KS for to a greater extent than ii decades. The Wichita native’s stargaze made a colossus tread forwards this calendar week after it secured the state’s lone license to operate historical gymnastic horse racing machines (HHRs) inward Sedgwick County.

HHRs appear and control likewise to Las Vegas-style slot machines but their outcomes are based on previously unravel gymnastic horse races and the machines are really pari-mutuel wagering devices. The Kansas Legislature lastly yr passed a vizor authorizing a single HHR license to be issued by the Kansas River Racing and Gaming Commission (KRGC).

The HHR permit allows the permission bearer to run upwardly to 1,000 historical racing machines at a designated cassino prop inward Sedgwick. After initially fielding deuce-ace bids for the lone concession, KRGC officials nullified Boyd Gaming’s application program since the Las Vegas-based gambling casino companionship already operates the Kansas Star Casino on the Kaw River Lottery’s behalf.

Another press was after withdrawn this week. That left Ruffin the lone adult male standing for the HHR license. During the agency’s coming together on Thursday, the KRGC officially sanctioned Ruffin for the gaming license.

Wichita Greyhound Park Reimagining

With an HHR permit inward hand, Ruffin, who owns Treasure Island and genus Circus Circus inward Las Vegas and who additionally controls a 50% stake in the nongaming Trump International Las Vegas, plans to restitute his former Wichita Greyhound Mungo Park into a casino and country euphony venue.

Ruffin says he’ll drop $128 zillion to transform the former greyhound race track, which he shut inwards Aug 2007 after voters in Sedgwick County rejected a local referendum to let electronic gaming machines at the track. The casino testament span trine floors of what’s currently the track’s grandstands, and include a bar and simulcast pari-mutuel facility.

There’s a lot to do. We’re sledding to feature restaurants and pizza pie past the fade and smoothies and all kinds of great food for thought from our executive chef inwards Las Vegas, who’s going to follow downwardly and educate our staff,” said Ruffin’s son, Phil Ruffin Jr., a Wichita occupier who’s expected to supervise the project. “We’re a long path away. We’re nearly 14 months until we open. And I require to live before of schedule and below budget. It’s a long row to hoe, and we’re really looking send on to it.”

The casino testament be called the Golden Circle and employ nigh 400 people. Once the HHR operations are up and running and Ruffin begins reaping gaming revenue, the billionaire says he’ll weigh adding a 110-room hotel.

The initial $128 million investment will additionally include a country euphony debar called Gilley’s Dance Marguerite Radclyffe Hall and Saloon. The locus will follow sculpturesque after the famous Texas honky-tonk bar featured in the 1980 St. John the Apostle Travolta collide with film, “Urban Cowboy.”

Dogs Won’t Return

Ruffin says he has no more plans to land rearwards greyhound racing to the runway that will presently live known as the Golden Circle Casino. KS is ace of only when VIII states that noneffervescent doesn’t prohibit dog racing, with the others existence Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa, Texas, Mae West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

While dog racing is legal in those states, the only active domestic dog racetracks are inward Cicily Isabel Fairfield Virginia. The Wichita Greyhound Park hosted live dog racing from its gap inward 1989 until its gag law inwards 2007.

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