Wichita, Kansas - It's been about four years since the dogs were running at the Wichita Greyhound Park. WichitaWins is a new group and it wants a vote to bring back the dogs. And add slots.
"Well, obviously it's at Wichita Greyhound Park and Phil Ruffin is the owner of the greyhound park," says Tracy Wildey with WichitaWins. "So he is the one that would put the money out."
The money would be an investment of $100 Million.
So, with an investor in place, the "grassroots" group called WichitWins wants to get slots at the dog track back into the hands of voters. Voters said no in 2007. So, what would be different this time?
"We believe voters were very distinct in not wanting a casino in Sedgwick County," explains Wildey. "However we don't believe that the track question on electronic games at the race track was clear. That question lost by less than 250 votes so our answer is: We would like more of a clear vote on that."
WichitaWins is going after lawmakers to get them to say yes, and get the issue put to a vote again in Sedgwick County.
"The complex would feature wagering on greyhound dog racing, slot machine gaming and other amenities," explains Wildey. "It would create 500 new jobs and produce new tax revenue for the state of Kansas."
Meanwhile the Kansas Star Casino in nearby Mulvane is set to open later this month.
