Application filed to manage Dodge City casino
By CARL MANNING
Associated Press Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- An Olathe company on Thursday filed an application with the Kansas Lottery Commission to operate a resort casino in Dodge City.
Butler National Service Corp. became the second company to apply for a casino contract under the state's expanded gambling law. Last month, Penn National Gaming Inc. submitted a proposal for a $295 million hotel-and-casino complex in Cherokee County.
In its 2,000-page application, Butler laid out plans for the Boot Hill Casino and Resort, which would have 800 slot machines and 15 tables, with room to expand to 1,200 slots and 24 tables.
Located about two miles west of downtown Dodge City on 400 acres of pastureland, it would include a five-story 100-room hotel, lounge, four restaurants and a 22,000-square-foot conference center.
"It's going to be very upscale, more marble and granite finish than there would be barn wood," said Jeff Thorpe, president of Boot Hill Gaming Inc., which partnered with Butler to develop the casino plan.
Butler is a subsidiary of Olathe-based Butler National Corp., which operates The Stables casino for the Miami and Modoc tribes near Miami, Okla.
Lottery officials said no decision will be made on awarding a contract until after the Dec. 26 deadline in case there are other applications. Thorpe said he wasn't aware of any other applicants.
The casino would be the smallest of four authorized by a law enacted this year to expand gambling beyond the existing four tribal casinos, horse and dog racing and the lottery.
There will be at least a $65 million investment plus expected annual gross revenues of $60 million after the casino opens around January 2010, Thorpe said.
In addition to Dodge City, the law allows one casino in Wyandotte County and one each in southeast and south-central Kansas. Developers of those casinos must make a minimum investment of $225 million, plus pay $25 million privilege fee. The Dodge City casino must make a $50 million investment and pay a $5.5 million privilege fee.
Cherokee and Crawford counties are vying for the southeast Kansas casino. Sumner County is the only contender in the south-central zone after Sedgwick County voters rejected casinos last month.
At least seven developers are trying to get approval from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County-Kansas City, the next step before applications go to the Lottery Commission.
Developers have until Nov. 13 to submit applications for Sumner County; Dec. 31 for Wyandotte County and Dec. 6 for Cherokee and Crawford counties.
Thorpe said Boot Hill Gaming picked Butler because of its experience in operating a tribal casino and its ability to attract customers.
"Out here, Dodge City is very used to the fact you have to attract people to get them," he said. "Butler brings a lot of marketing skills to the table."
After each deadline for submitting applications, the commission has 90 days to negotiate contracts with as many qualified developers as it wants. Those contracts then are forwarded to a seven-member review board, which will have 60 days to pick the four casino managers and send those names to the state Racing and Gaming Commission for final approval.
While 11 other states have commercial casinos, Kansas is the first to allow state-owned resort casinos.
Lottery director Ed Van Petten has estimated it will be two to three years before any casino is in operation, assuming the law is upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court.
At Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' request, Attorney General Paul Morrison filed a "friendly lawsuit" with the state Supreme Court last month to test the law's constitutionality, with the hope of it being upheld. Last week, the court sent the case to Shawnee County District Court, delaying any final decision.
In 1994, the justices said the term "lottery" in the state constitution is broad enough to include casino games. Critics say the constitution requires the state to manage gambling operations directly, rather than delegate that to a private company.
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