By Roger McKinney
Globe Staff Writer
FRONTENAC, Kan. — Phil Ruffin Sr. on Friday ended contract talks with the Kansas Lottery Commission to reopen Camptown Greyhound Park with 600 electronic games, said Sally Lunsford, spokeswoman for the Lottery Commission.
“Phil Ruffin did leave the table,” Lunsford said. “They don’t feel it’s a good investment.”
Ruffin is owner of Camptown. He had proposed a $25 million-plus upgrade and expansion to the track to become a so-called “racino,” with 600 electronic games, a Gilley’s Bar and Grill, and other food and beverage offerings.
Camptown Greyhound Park had closed for a second time in 2000.
The law allowing state-owned casinos would have required that 40 percent of revenues from slot machines go to the state with 2 percent of revenues going to Crawford County and 1 percent to Cherokee County.
Neither Ruffin nor William Shea, executive vice president of Ruffin Cos., immediately returned calls seeking comment Friday afternoon.
“Boy, it’s kind of like getting hit in the chin,” said Crawford County Commissioner Ralph McGeorge, of Pittsburg. He said the commission had discussed possible economic benefits from the expanded dog track on Friday.
“We were hoping for the best, that this situation could change and help us out in Crawford County,” McGeorge said.
He said the commission on Friday considered sending a letter to the Lottery Commission to ask that it approve a contract with Ruffin, but it has turned out that the idea was too late.
“It is heartbreaking,” McGeorge said.
County Clerk Don Pyle had a similar reaction.
“That is very upsetting,” he said, also noting the discussion at the County Commission meeting. “We had hoped that to be part of our economic development plan.”
State Sen. Jim Barone, D-Frontenac, said the news was surprising and disappointing.
“It’s very unfortunate, because Mr. Ruffin had assured me personally early on that he would open the dog track in Frontenac, even when I said there could be a substantial risk,” Barone said.
Barone said this development wouldn’t cause him to give up. The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission should require Ruffin to surrender the license it issued to him in August 2007, he said, so that another operator could be found.
“I will continue to do what I can to get a track open,” Barone said.
In a statement issued by Ruffin last August, he said: “We’re going to create an entertainment venue of which the citizens of Crawford County, the great state of Kansas and the nation can be proud and enjoy.”
The statement continued that more than 300 employees would be hired in advance of a grand opening in the second quarter of 2008.
“The upgrade and expansion will create exciting economic stimulus for Crawford County and Kansas,” the statement read.
Linda Grilz, board member with The Racing Association of Kansas Southeast, the charity organization and licensee of the track, said she was disappointed in the news.
“Where we go from here, I don’t really know,” Grilz said. “It didn’t sound very optimistic.”
She said in some ways, she can understand Ruffin’s thinking as a business decision.
“They have to feel that they can make some money or there’s no need for them to get into business,” Grilz said.
A new state-commissioned study projects Camptown could produce revenue of $46 million in its first year and $56 million in its second year. As a result of a planned destination casino in Cherokee County in year three, revenues were projected to drop to $33 million in the third year. The study projects revenues of $35 million in year four and $36 million in year five.
Penn National Gaming now is proposing an initial investment of $150 million in a state-owned casino off Interstate 44 in Cherokee County. The company hopes to be allowed to phase in the remaining $100 million required under state law over several years.
The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma is building its Downstream Casino Resort off Interstate 44, where Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas meet. The casino and hotel have a price tag of $301 million.
Contract in works
The Kansas Lottery Commission is expected to act Monday on a contract for Penn National Gaming in Cherokee County.
