{"id":2195540,"date":"2025-12-11T21:33:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T21:33:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2195540"},"modified":"2025-12-11T21:33:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T21:33:04","slug":"gilleys-entertainment-mecca-opens-in-park-city-on-monday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/gilleys-entertainment-mecca-opens-in-park-city-on-monday\/","title":{"rendered":"Gilley\u2019s entertainment mecca opens in Park City on Monday"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As a billionaire businessman who already owns two popular, profitable casinos in Las Vegas, Phil Ruffin Sr. knows a thing or two about what brings in customers.<\/p>\n

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So even though his new Gilley\u2019s entertainment complex in Park City<\/a> only has pari-mutuel betting \u2014 it\u2019s not a casino \u2014 he\u2019s transformed his former Greyhound Park into an entertainment playground that he believes will attract adults and children from around the region.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s gonna blow your mind,\u201d Ruffin said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s going to be surprised at what we did at the track. It\u2019s something that even Vegas hasn\u2019t seen yet. It would compete very effectively on the Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The gambling hall, as Gilley\u2019s is being billed, opens Monday with two types of betting, numerous bar and food options, a saloon, high-tech arcade games, pickleball, bar bowling, ax throwing, a roller-coaster simulator and an outdoor terrace and other areas available to rent for parties, among other uses .<\/p>\n

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\"The <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
The new 250,000-square-foot Gilley\u2019s playground opens at the former Wichita Greyhound Park on Monday. Jaime Green The Wichita Eagle<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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In the spring, the Back 40, where the dog track used to be, will open for concerts, rodeos, food festivals, circuses, car shows, ice skating with a holiday festival, and other events that can accommodate up to 10,000 people.<\/p>\n

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Ruffin\u2019s Treasure Island<\/a> already has a Gilley\u2019s Saloon<\/a>, which is a saloon and restaurant only, and he owns Circus Circus<\/a> in Las Vegas and Casino Miami<\/a> in Florida. He also owns half of the Trump International Hotel<\/a> with his good friend President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

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He said he\u2019s so impressed with how the Park City Gilley\u2019s concept turned out that it has him thinking about possibly doing something similar in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat could be in our future, too,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have all these new high-tech machines that Dave & Buster\u2019s<\/a> doesn\u2019t have. . . . This is high-tech stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The first floor<\/h2>\n

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After taking the 77th Street exit off of I-135 in Park City and heading east toward Hydraulic, the first indication you\u2019ll see of a revived property \u2014 other than a massive Gilley\u2019s sign \u2014 is a new fountain in a pond on the west side of the property.<\/p>\n

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After winding through a long drive, you\u2019ll come to two entrances.<\/p>\n

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One is the main entrance with a large lobby that opens onto the Barrel & Bond bar and Gilley\u2019s main attraction: 1,000 pari-mutuel machines, which Ruffin described as looking and feeling like slot machines.<\/p>\n

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\"The <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
The gambling hall at the new Gilley\u2019s has 1,000 pari-mutuel machines that look like slot machines. These machines feature what is known as HHR betting, which is wagering on historical horse races. That means rather than randomly generated digits that slot machines have, these outcomes are based on random past horse races. Jaime Green The Wichita Eagle<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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These machines feature what is known as HHR betting, which is wagering on historical horse races. That means rather than randomly generated digits that slot machines have, these outcomes are based on random past horse races.<\/p>\n

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Another option is to enter a door just down from the main entrance that goes directly into the Gilley\u2019s BBQ, Saloon & Honky Tonk.<\/p>\n

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If you walk to the saloon from the main lobby, you\u2019ll pass a wall that\u2019s designed for visitors to show off their belt buckles, similar to how some bars collect bills or bras from guests to display.<\/p>\n

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As one Gilley\u2019s employee described it, it\u2019s like taking a portal back in time to an old-fashioned barbecue and honky-tonk.<\/p>\n

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The restaurant has vintage and other cowboy-themed decor throughout, including a tin ceiling sourced from a Sedgwick County barn.<\/p>\n

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Behind the restaurant near a patio where guests can smoke, there is a permanent meat smoker . A portable one will sit out front once Gilley\u2019s opens.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s a private dining room separate from the restaurant for high-end, curated dining that management wants to be a Michelin-level or James Beard-type experience.<\/p>\n

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The saloon is just west of the main restaurant, with a small mechanical bull-riding ring to greet guests, who can sit on chairs made of horse saddles to watch the action.<\/p>\n

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\"Gilley <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
Gilley Girls, who will be responsible for creating energy and getting people to dance at the new Gilley\u2019s honky-tonk, practice their steps ahead of Monday\u2019s opening. Jaime Green The Wichita Eagle<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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The venue seats just over 300, but its tables can be removed for larger shows to accommodate 700 people.<\/p>\n

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Acts including Colt Ford, Michael Austin, Locash, Aaron Tippin and others are already booked for this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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There are premium booths along the front of the dance floor and wooden tables surrounding the sides.<\/p>\n

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Young women called Gilley Girls have been hired to lead line dancing and bring energy to the room.<\/p>\n

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Ruffin said he has the kind of wooden floor perfect for line dancing, which he learned about the hard way in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen they dance the line dances, they didn\u2019t like the way the floor felt, so we had to put all brand-new floors in,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we didn\u2019t make that mistake this time. . . . We\u2019ve learned a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Floors two and three<\/h2>\n

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New escalators transport guests to the second and third floors.<\/p>\n

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As you step off the escalator to the second floor, there are glass doors and windows opening onto a large terrace that used to overlook the dog track.<\/p>\n

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Even in the cold, there\u2019s something inviting about the large, sunny space with a variety of seating, fire pits and games, such as a human-size chess and checkerboard.<\/p>\n

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Guests will be able to rent the space for parties, weddings and corporate events.<\/p>\n

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\"Pig <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
Pig n Pickle, featuring 10 pickleball courts at the new Gilley\u2019s in Park City, will open by this spring. Jaime Green The WIchita Eagle<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Beyond that is the Back 40, which should debut by around May, and 10 Pig n Pickle pickleball courts on the west side of the Back 40 that should open sometime around March or April.<\/p>\n

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Back inside, there\u2019s still obvious grandstand seating left from the dog track. One half of it now has high-end arcade games for all ages, and the other has cushy lounge seating facing the outdoors and walls of screens that will show sporting events.<\/p>\n

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Just back beyond the seating is the Gilley\u2019s Trackside race book where guests can watch and bet on live horse-racing simulcasts.<\/p>\n

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Throughout all three floors, there are high-end finishes \u2014 even the bathrooms seem Vegas-like \u2014 and personal touches as well.<\/p>\n

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For instance, Ozzie\u2019s bar by the race book is in homage to Ozzie, the stuffed rabbit that used to lure dogs around the track.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s an all-things-Kansas mural in the bowling area, with highlights of Kansas teams.<\/p>\n

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The bull downstairs is named Hightower after a character in \u201cUrban Cowboy,\u201d which was set at the Gilley\u2019s in Pasadena, Texas.<\/p>\n

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\"Meet <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
Meet Hightower, the mechanical bull at the new Gilley\u2019s in Park City. Jaime Green The Wichita Eagle<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Up another escalator is the third floor with the Golden Circle bar. The entire floor is dedicated to sports, with 190 feet of LED walls showing games.<\/p>\n

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On the east end of the floor is one room for private parties and another for ax throwing. To the west, there are four lanes of what\u2019s known as bar bowling, which uses smaller balls than normal.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s also a roller-coaster simulator that takes two guests, who wear virtual-reality glasses to experience a ride that includes flipping upside down at one point.<\/p>\n

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There are golf simulators and other games as well.<\/p>\n

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\"The <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
The Golden Circle bar will serve an entire floor of sports-related fun at the new Gilley\u2019s. Jaime Green The Wichita Eagle<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Ruffin is particularly excited about the horse racing, which will have individual cubicles of sorts for personal viewing as well digital walls where projections of races will be so big, you\u2019ll be able to see the jockeys\u2019 shoes, he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ll have beautiful screens out there,\u201d Ruffin said. \u201cIt should be a nice draw for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For the best<\/h2>\n

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In 2007, Ruffin, his dog track staff and friends and supporters gathered in what seemed like a cold, gray space at the old dog track to watch a countywide vote on a possible new casino for Wichita and slots at the track.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t know how it failed,\u201d Ruffin said. \u201cWe were ahead all evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It was so quiet in the cavernous 250,000-square-foot space after the loss, you could hear a proverbial pin drop since the lack of slots meant the end of dog racing, too.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was really hurt when we had to fire all those people,\u201d Ruffin said. \u201cThat was really the thing about it. I didn\u2019t need the money.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Contrast that with the hub of activity that\u2019s in the warm, bright Gilley\u2019s environment of today.<\/p>\n

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\"These <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
These are some of the high-end arcade games at the new Gilley\u2019s in part of the former Wichita Greyhound grandstand space. Jaime Green The Wichita Eagle<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Workers are putting finishing touches on every area, including squeeging ceilings, trimming massive Christmas trees, uncovering protective plastic on seating and machines and doing practice runs with robots that will handle daily cleaning and serve some food and drinks.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s a hum of excitement and probably more than a bit of stress, too, as there is a lot to finish before Monday. That includes making sure a lot of technology works, including at the machines but also with sound systems and other electronics as well.<\/p>\n

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As disappointed as Ruffin was at the slots loss almost 20 years ago, and as bad as he felt for his employees, he said he now thinks it was all for the best<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Back then, he\u2019d planned to open a Gilley\u2019s entertainment venue not unlike the one he has at Treasure Island.<\/p>\n

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His new Gilley\u2019s is much more than that.<\/p>\n

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Ruffin\u2019s first Gilley\u2019s was at his New Frontier Hotel and Casino<\/a> before it was torn down.<\/p>\n

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\"As <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
As disappointed as Phil Ruffin Sr. was at his slots loss at his former Wichita Greyhound Park almost 20 years ago, and as bad as he felt for his employees, he said he now thinks it was all for the best. His new Gilley\u2019s entertainment mecca, which opens Monday, is much bigger and better than what he planned back then, Ruffin said. Travis Heying The Wichita Eagle<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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\u201cYeah, that\u2019s when I met Mickey,\u201d Ruffin said. \u201cWe were friends since 1997, and we became very close friends, and I liked him a lot. He liked me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gilley used to fly to Wichita to have lunch with Ruffin.<\/p>\n

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Ruffin hopes to fly in Gilley\u2019s widow, Cindy, for the opening Monday.<\/p>\n

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He wishes Gilley were here to see what he\u2019s created.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe would love it. He would go crazy<\/i>. I\u2019ve got a big sign \u2014 Gilley\u2019s sign \u2014 up there. Maybe he can see it. I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Gilley <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>
Gilley Girls, who will be responsible for creating energy and getting people to dance at the new Gilley\u2019s honky-tonk, practice their steps ahead of Monday\u2019s opening. Jaime Green The Wichita Eagle<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 2:52 PM.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.kansas.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a billionaire businessman who already owns two popular, profitable casinos in Las Vegas, Phil Ruffin Sr. knows a thing or two about what brings in customers. So even though his new Gilley\u2019s entertainment complex in Park City only has pari-mutuel betting \u2014 it\u2019s not a casino \u2014 he\u2019s transformed his former Greyhound Park into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2195541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[423911,423910,423912,355728,423006],"class_list":["post-2195540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-billionaire-phil-ruffin","tag-gilleys-entertainment-destination","tag-pari-mutuel-betting","tag-park-city","tag-wichita-kansas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gilleys-entertainment-mecca-opens-in-Park-City-on-Monday.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2195540"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2195542,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2195540\/revisions\/2195542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2195541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2195540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2195540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2195540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}