When will new casino open at old Wichita Greyhound Park? Here’s an update
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gilley’s casino will open in December 2025 at the old Wichita Greyhound Park.
- The venue will feature 1,000 historic horse racing machines and live race betting.
- Facility amenities include a hotel, dance hall, sports simulators and dining spaces.
More than 20 years after Wichita Greyhound Park closed its starting gates for the last time, a new betting venture will reopen at the venue later this year — but with a spin on traditional gambling and sports wagering.
Instead of hosting live horse racing, the new Gilley’s will be the state’s only source of historical horse races — slot machine-based wagers that use the results of past races based on track records for each spin.
Two years ago, casino magnate Phil Ruffin won the state’s three-way bid for the only historic horse racing machines license. The venue is slated to open in December, and Ruffin asserts it is “guaranteed to be the best entertainment destination in the region,” according to a recent press release.
The three-story, 141,000-square-foot facility will feature around 1,000 historic horse racing machines. People can also place bets in real time on live horse races across the country. Ruffin has previously said there will be no live horse or dog racing at Gilley’s.
The multi-million dollar venue will also host bar spaces, sports simulators, a honky-tonk-style dance hall, a 96-room hotel, barbeque and more.
Initially, the property was known as the Golden Circle historic horse racing facility. It has since been renamed Gilley’s after the late country music singer Mickey Gilley. Its nightclub — Gilley’s Dance Hall and Saloon — will be a replica of the juke joint featured in the 1980s western “Urban Cowboy.”
Gilley’s is near 77th Street North and Hydraulic and can be accessed from I-35. Additional construction updates, previews and event details can be found on the facility’s social media or website.
This story was originally published August 21, 2025 at 12:31 PM.
