Two Ford Co. casino plans advance
Developers' proposals will now move on to second round of the competition,
By Chris Green, Hutchinson News, May 28, 2008
Two developers cleared an initial hurdle Tuesday in their battle for the right to build and manage a state-owned resort casino in Ford County.
The Kansas Lottery Commission voted to endorse contracts with both Olathe's Butler National Service Corp. and Wichita's Dodge City Resort and Gaming Co. to develop a Dodge City casino with a Wild West theme. ...
Wichita attorney Steve Joseph, who leads a bid by Dodge City Resort and Gaming Co., said his group's task is to now persuade the seven-member review board to the merits of its plans.
Joseph's venture includes former Wichita Mayor Bob Knight, state media magnate Larry Steckline and his wide, former Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall Steckline among its investors.
It plans to spend $20 million to build a temporary casino by spring 2009. It would later develop a $92.3 million permanent gaming site, complete with hotel, restaurants, shops and three rodeo arenas near the northeast corner of Dodge City.
Joseph said his group has the biggest "concept" for southwest Kansas and hopes to make Dodge City an entertainment capital in the model of Branson, Mo.
"If Branson, Missouri, can do it, Dodge City can do it, too," Joseph said.
But Clark Stewart, president and chief executive officer of Butler National, said it's his firm's plans that would be in the best interest of the state and the southwest region.
The project's manager emphasized the company's support from local officials and how the project will help Dodge City's economy and its effort to retain its young people during a presentation to the commission last week.
Butler National, hired by Dodge City's Boot Hill Gaming Inc., plans to build a $92.9 million casino in two phases near U.S. 50 on the city's western edge.
Initially, the company would open a $22.3 million interim gaming site by September 2009. It plans to complete the project, along with a 124-room hotel, restaurants and a spa, by September 2011. ...
FORD COUNTY
Butler National Service Corp.
(Boot Hill Casino and Resort)
State: 22 percent of annual casino revenues plus an additional percentage based on revenues above projections, up to 38 percent.
Ford County: 1.5 percent.
Dodge City: 1.5 percent.
Problem Gambling-Addictions Fund: 2 percent.
Dodge City Resort and Gaming Co.
(Dodge City Casino Resort)
State: 22 percent of annual casino revenues, plus 10 percent of net cash flow when revenues exceed $95 million.
Ford County: 1.5 percent.
Dodge City: 1.5 percent.
Problem Gambling-Addictions Fund: 2 percent.
