Only 1 candidate left to run Wichita-area casino after competitor suddenly disqualified

‘Urban Cowboy’ nightclub with $128M Golden Circle casino pitched for old greyhound park

A competition for a lucrative license to operate a slot-machines-style casino in the Wichita area has turned into a one-man race. The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission adopted a new policy Tuesday morning that disqualified one of two finalists for the 1,000-machine historical horse racing facility.

Wichita billionaire and Las Vegas casino mogul Phil Ruffin is the lone remaining applicant for the historical horse racing facility license. He wants to build the Golden Circle casino at the 72-acre Wichita Greyhound Park that he purchased from Sedgwick County in 2018.

Ruffin’s competition for the license, a team that included Wichita developer George Laham and Boyd Gaming Inc., was scheduled to present their plans to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission on Tuesday morning at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview.

But before Laham’s team could give a presentation, the gaming commission called a closed-door session and came out of the private deliberations with a new policy proposal that disqualified Laham’s group for its inclusion of Boyd Gaming, which operates the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane.

“An individual or entity is prohibited from holding a license to manage or operate a historical horse racing facility within a gaming zone where the individual or entity is also a lottery gaming facility manager or racetrack gaming facility manager,” the policy adopted Tuesday morning says.

After the disqualification, the commission recessed until 1:45 p.m., when it will hear Ruffin’s proposal.

Gaming commission Chairman David Moses said the policy was needed to clarify the legislative intent of the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act, a 2007 law that allowed destination casino resorts in four gaming zones throughout the state and electronic gaming machines at race tracks.

“We apologize for the timing of this, but this is how it works,” Moses said.

Moses said the commission consulted with state legislative leadership and the governor’s office before adopting the policy.

“A deeper dive was being conducted into everything,” Moses said. “We learned that the legislative intent from the original gaming law was that there only be one facility per zone for a manager, and the governor is also of that opinion. So as we were getting ready for this hearing, it became apparent that the policy should be adopted to be consistent with the legislative intent and the governor’s understanding as to the prohibition. So it really didn’t come up just at the last minute, but it’s unfortunate that it came up at this stage instead of earlier in the process, absolutely.”

Laham’s team did not want to comment to The Eagle on the decision Tuesday morning.

Moses said the commission will move forward with its deliberations on whether to award the license to Ruffin and will decide Thursday afternoon.

“The law is very clear that the Racing and Gaming Commission doesn’t have to give a license to the last standing applicant,” Moses said. “They have to give it to an applicant that qualifies. And there could be any variety of reasons why that applicant isn’t the best to give the license to, but they’re going to have to present to us reasons why they should get the license.”

Ruffin, who owns several downtown Wichita properties, has worked for years to open a casino in the Wichita area or expand gambling at the Wichita Greyhound Park.

The Golden Circle proposal garnered letters of support from Kansas House Speaker and Wichita Republican Dan Hawkins, Park City city government, former Sedgwick County Sheriff Mike Hill, former Wichita City Council member Sharon Fearey, and Paul Treadwell, who sought a license to add the machines at Towne West Mall in Wichita but recently dropped out of the competition without explanation.

A business partner with former President Donald Trump in the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, Ruffin also owns Treasure Island and Circus Circus hotels and casinos in Las Vegas.

But his quest to bring gambling to Wichita has been met by hometown hurdles.

In August 2007, Sedgwick County voters rejected electronic gaming machines at the greyhound park by less than 250 votes. A separate vote to allow a casino in Sedgwick County failed with 56% of voters saying no. A 2014 law blocked voters from deciding on the issue again until 2032.

Last year, the Kansas Legislature passed a bill that re-opened the door. A 2022 Kansas law allowing sports betting also allowed the state gaming commission to award one license to operate 1,000 historical horse racing machines in Sedgwick County.

Historical horse racing machines resemble slot machines and allow bettors to select horses in previously run races based on their track record. No identifying information about the race is available to bettors before placing their bets on a particular horse, a process that is sometimes randomized, depending on the machine.