Return of the Wild West Casino

DODGE CITY -- The late 1800's versions of $1,000 poker or 5 cent "Chuck-aluck" may not be found today in Dodge City, but Boot Hill Casino officially renewed its gambling heritage Wednesday.

By 3 p.m. the casino was flooded with people. The frequent yells from the craps table barely covered the music coming from the 584 slot machines.
Gamblers waited in long lines to get their Player's Club cards. Most visitors played the slots and shared with other gamblers which machines were paying well while conversations at the black jack tables sometimes kept the dealer from doling out the cards.

Indeed, the expected mood at the casino's grand opening was friendly, warm and welcoming. Though the casino unofficially opened and closed Tuesday, Boot Hill will remain open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from Wednesday forward.

Coldwater resident Verda Cotter had a lucky first day after winning $400.
"I won it (Tuesday), I came back (Wednesday) and it's taking my money," she said jokingly.

Osborne resident, Dale Nonamaker (hat), and Jay Hestel from Hutchinson try their hand at some black jack moments after the Boot Hill Casino officially opened its doors. Photo by Tony Hernandez

A majority of the gamblers Wednesday came from places like Larned, Jetmore, Wilmore in Kansas, others from Guymon, Okla., and even Perryton, Texas. Most were pleased with their new local option.

The casino's open was a fitting, symbolic birthday present for Dodge City Mayor Rick Sowers. It has been no secret that he, like most community and county leaders, look to improve tourism in the area.

By February 2011, the city hopes to complete a 10,000 square foot convention center and a 4,500 fixed-seat special events center that would add to an overall tourism drive of the city.

"What you're seeing right now is phase one of the destination casino with a hotel and other amenities," Sowers said. "There's a market that has been wanting to come to Western Kansas to hold conventions for business and training facilities. We just don't have the facilities to hold that. We also didn't have something to do when the convention is over for people who would attend that."

For every $1 gambled, the city and Ford County will receive 1.5 cents, said Butler National Corp. CEO Clark Stewart. Butler National is the casino's managing company.

Initial estimated gaming revenues for the casino are $40 million meaning the city and county can expect around $600,000 a year each.

The state gets 22 percent, or an estimated $8.8 million, of the gaming revenue pie. Kansas Senate President Stephen Morris said the income would be a much needed source of revenue for the state's general funds. He said funds from the gaming revenue were expected to go to debt reduction and the state's infrastructure.

"(We're) literally seeing millions and millions of dollars leaving the state," Morris said. "Some people don't agree with gaming, and that's their right to do that, but with Kansas expanding its gaming, we want to capture as many of those dollars."

Indeed Morris, born in Hugoton, was proud of Boothill the first state-owned casino in the United States. He shared his pride with the crowd at a ribbon cutting ceremony that started around 11 a.m.

The senate president recalled some of the legislative roadblocks he, and other gaming supporters, faced when passing the 2007 gaming legislation. He presided over a 12 hour, U.S. Senate-type filibuster blocking the legislation from getting into the senate's conference committee.

"All I could do was to keep thinking of how nice it would be to see a casino in Western Kansas," he said to the crowd followed by the immediate cheers.
Later Wednesday, Morris recalled in detail how supporters of the gaming legislation passed the filibuster. They needed 21 votes; they had 20. Nine hours into the filibuster, former Senator Rita Goodwin switched sides.

"She was sort of on the fence anyway but she felt like people were being hard handed in not letting us put it in conference and trying to destroy the legislation without giving us time to try and do some things with it," he said.

They kept Goodwin's vote a secret for another three hours, until they could develop a legislative tactic to pass the gaming bill, he said.

Governor Mark Parkinson also recalled to the crowd at the ribbon cutting ceremony his 20-year memories of bringing a state-owned casino to the state.

"When we first starting talking about it, it was a bunch of high paid developers from Las Vegas who brought their New York City attorneys, and all they wanted to do was build a casino in Kansas City," he said. "In the back of the room for 20 years has been Clark Stewart raising his hand saying, 'don't forget about us' and Dodge City saying, 'don't forget about us.' I think it's a great Kansas story that the very first casino isn't a high priced casino in Kansas City."

For full story and photos see Friday's Times

© 2008 Southwest Times