New Frontier boss may try Kansas

Legalized casinos in Kansas may attract one of the state’s own. Wichita businessman Phil Ruffin, who owns the New Frontier, told the Wichita Eagle he wanted to acquire one of the state’s gaming licenses.

Ruffin said he would build a casino in downtown Wichita with billionaire developer Donald Trump. The pair are partners in the $1.2 billion Trump International, under construction behind the New Frontier.

One problem; Ruffin owns the Wichita Greyhound Park. The recently enacted Kansas law prohibits the ownership of a dog racing track and a casino in the same market.

Shuffle Master didn’t waste any time getting its Table Master product into Pennsylvania racinos.

The Las Vegas based gambling equipment provider was approved last month by state gaming authorities to distribute its automated blackjack table game that uses an electronic dealer.

The Philadelphia Park racetrack placed 11 units in its racino while Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs should have 10 units installed by June.

“With approval in hand and product already in the market, Shuffle Master has a critical first-mover advantage,” Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Bill Lerner said. “We would expect the other operational and soon-to-open racinos to also place Table Master products on their respective slot floors.”

Last Sunday’s Review-Journal carried a profile of downtown casino pioneer Jackie Gaughan, whose holdings have dwindled to just the El Cortez.

Gaughan, 86, who lives at the hotel, spends most evenings playing $1 to $3 poker in the casino’s small card room.

This act might seem to be in violation of state gaming regulations, which prohibit owners of gaming licenses from gambling in their own casinos. However, Regulation 5.013 was amended in the 1990s to allow wagering on poker or off-track pari-mutuel racing, where bets are not taken against the house.

Fremont Street casino operators continue to mine downtown for dollars despite the area’s reputation as a declining market.

The latest digging is on the west side of the Golden Nugget. Landry’s, the restaurant company that bought the casino and a sister property in Laughlin for $318 million in cash and assumed debt in 2005, is adding 11,000 square feet of meeting space and parking.

The construction is part of a continuing investment in what’s considered downtown’s swankiest casino.

Landry’s has spent about $100 million on everything from a shark aquarium to restaurant upgrades since buying the resort. The new meeting space is scheduled to be completed in December.

The Inside Gaming column is compiled by Review-Journal gaming and tourism writers Howard Stutz, Benjamin Spillman and Arnold M. Knightly. Send your tips about the gaming and tourism industry to insidegaming@reviewjournal.com.