The Cherokee County, Kansas Board of Commissioners recently endorsed Castle Rock Casino Resorts’ plans for a proposed 0 million resort casino to be located less than a mile north of Interstate 44 on U.S. 400, near the Quapaw Tribe’s Downstream Casino and Resort. It’s the third company that has stepped up since Kansas began taking bids in July for a Southeast Gaming Zone casino: Southeast Kansas Casino Group, L.C. and Phil Ruffin and the Quapaw Tribe’s Downstream Casino also have expressed interest.
Kansas has three privately built, state-owned casinos developed under a 2007 law that provided for casinos in four specific zones. Casinos were built in three zones: the Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City; Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane; and Hollywood Casino in Kansas City, Kansas. The three developers recently came forward after the state legislature reduced the required initial investment from $225 million to $50 million, and dropped fees from $25 million to $5.5 million.
Following its December 19 deadline, the Lottery Commission will have 90 days to negotiate contracts and forward them to the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board for the final selection.
Castle Rock is owned by Kansas investors Rodney and Brandon Steven, Dave Burk, Dave Wells, W.G. Farha II, Mike Vess and others. At its commission presentation, Rodney Steven said the proposed Las Vegas-style casino would feature a 65,000 square foot casino with 1,400 slot machines, 35 game tables and a poker room, as well as a 14-story, 200-room hotel, a spa and dining facilities including an upscale steakhouse, 300-seat buffet, 24-hour restaurant, casino center bar and a sports bar. Plans also call for flexible meeting space and a 5,000- to 6,000-seat entertainment arena that will house a professional hockey franchise and host major concerts and other large events. The Steven brothers manage several minor league hockey teams in the area including the Wichita Thunder and Tulsa Oilers.
The Las Vegas-based Friedmutter Group would design the architecture and master plan. Cherokee County-based Crossland Construction would build the project, and the global firm WhiteSand Gaming would serve as the lead consultant. American Casino and Entertainment Company, which owns and manages four casinos in Las Vegas and Nevada, would manage the casino. The facility would open by June 1, 2016. Steven said it would create more than 1,000 jobs and generate $1.5 million in local property taxes, $250,000 in county sales taxes and $20.4 million in state gaming taxes.
The Castle Rock name comes from a well-known landmark in Western Kansas.
WhiteSand President and Chief Executive Officer Saverio “Sal” R. Scheri said, “As a direct competitor to Oklahoma casinos, Castle Rock Casino is perfectly placed to maximize the potential of a gaming facility in this region. From exquisite dining to exciting entertainment and a modern hotel, Castle Rock will be one of the top casinos in the Midwest. With a planned total investment in excess of $130 million, more than twice the minimum required, the proposed development is larger in scope than other announced casinos in the area.”
Recently the city commission of Pittsburg, Kansas passed an ordinance endorsing Southeast Kansas Casino Group’s plan for a proposed casino, hotel and restaurant, to be located on 200 privately owned acres at the junction of U.S. Highway 69 and Highway 400. The land is owned by Frances J. McCurdy, Michele Holman and Peter Holman.
The other interested developers are Phil Ruffin, a Wichita billionaire who owns Las Vegas Treasure Island Hotel & Casino and who is partnering with the Quapaw Tribe’s Downstream Casino. They hope to open a casino, restaurant and event center at the former Camptown Greyhound Park, which Ruffin owns, in Frontenac.
Regarding the new Castle Rock Casino proposal, Quapaw Tribal Chairman John Berrey said, “I think our proposal’s more realistic. We know what we’re doing and everyone knows us. We can deliver something really special.”
Meanwhile, the Kansas Star Casino 11,000 square foot meeting center and an equestrian center, both scheduled to open by late December. The expansion will complete the casino’s original master plan and bring the total investment in the property by Boyd Gaming and previous operator Peninsula Gaming to $330 million. The property, which opened in a temporary facility in late 2011 and moved into its permanent location in December 2012, also has a 300-room Hampton Inn & Suites and a 42,000 square foot arena.
The new 20,000 square foot equestrian center will feature 183 permanent stalls and a practice arena, allowing the casino to put on a wide variety of horse shows. Tim Lanier, arena director, said, “It adds something Kansas doesn’t have. No other equestrian site in the state is at this level, with a hotel and entertainment on the site. In Oklahoma City, they don’t have what we have because they don’t have a hotel on property, they don’t have the entertainment and restaurants that we have on property. Outside this casino, you have to go to Las Vegas to find the same facilities we do.”
Lanier said he expects the casino to host at least 10 equestrian events next year, and 24 or more in 2016.
