The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission recently awarded Phill Ruffin’s Golden Circle Casino near Wichita the state’s sole license to operate 1,000 historical horse racing (HHR) machines.
Located on the site of the former Wichita Greyhound Park, closed since 2007, Ruffin said he plans a $128 million renovation to include, besides the gaming machines, bars, restaurants and simulcast racing and eventually a 110-bed hotel.
Future General Manager Phil Ruffin Jr. said, “We are ecstatic with the news. We’ve been working for years to try to renovate and reopen Wichita Greyhound Park.” He said the venue is expected open in 14 months, and will create 300 construction jobs and 300 permanent jobs. He noted live horse racing and dog racing will not be offered.
The 2022 bill legalizing sports betting in Kansas also allowed the award of one license to operate 1,000 HHR machines in Sedgwick County. The commission rejected the other finalist for that license, developer George Laham, who would partner with Boyd Gaming, operator of Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane.
Under the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act, the state’s four gaming zones may have only one casino each, so the commission disallowed the same company from operating two different types of gaming venues in the same zone.
In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, Kansas’ four casinos produced slightly more than $407.1 million in gaming revenue and the state collected more than $103 million in gaming taxes.
The billionaire Ruffin, a Wichita native, is a partner in the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas and also owns Treasure Island and Circus Circus resorts in Las Vegas.
