CHEYENNE – Cheyenne could soon be home to another off-track betting (OTB) facility after a Cheyenne City Council committee recommended approval of a gambling facility planned for the former Old Chicago restaurant building.
At a meeting Monday, the council’s Public Services Committee considered an item granting special use approval for the gaming center to be located at 1734 Meadowland Drive, and local approval of a site-specific application for a simulcasting permit to be issued by the Wyoming Gaming Commission.
According to the Gaming Commission website, a simulcasting permit is an official license that allows a business or entity to conduct pari-mutuel wagering, including live broadcasts and historic horse racing (HHR) gaming terminals, via electronic transmission.
Bally’s Wyoming LLC is overseeing the operation of the facility. The company is also in the process of building an OTB facility in the former Big Lots location, and owns Bally’s Cheyenne Park – formerly known as Thunder Plains Park.
Charles Bloom, Planning and Development director, said the item is being considered under a recently changed city process that moved approval of gaming centers from the city’s Board of Adjustment to the governing body.
The council is able to review the application for compliance with the city’s Unified Development Code (UDC), as well as state requirements for gaming centers under Senate File 45, which requires local approval of gaming centers.
“This one is a little bit unique,” Bloom said. “It did come in for use approval under a different process in front of the Board of Adjustment, and that ultimately was the last historic horse racing facility that was considered by the Board of Adjustment, because now that use no longer exists, and a new use has been created with this new process.”
Bloom said Planning and Development staff have also reviewed the application and found it to be in compliance with the UDC and state statute.
Mark Schlang, a member of the Bally’s design and development group, said the company has already invested around $1 million in the property, and is planning to facilitate additional improvements.
He said Bally’s has paid to replace the roof of the building, evaluated repairs needed with the exterior stucco and paint, and is preparing an enhanced landscape design that will add another row of trees along the eastern boundary of the property.
“The team that we’ve assembled, I’ve personally worked with some of them for almost 30 years,” Schland said. “We have a Wyoming contractor. We’re using local subcontractors. A lot of our design team have a lot of ties to Wyoming, a lot of (University of Wyoming) grads. So we feel like we’re not coming in as strangers.”
The gaming center will also include a food and beverage service, he said. The plan is to bring Bally’s culinary team from its Black Hawk, Colorado, property, and to offer an American bistro-style menu.
Councilman Tom Segrave asked Schlang to describe the ambiance of the facility, and Schlang said it would be focused on indoor gaming, rather than a Las Vegas-style exterior.
“It’s gaming,” Schlang said. “I mean, we can’t hide that. … So if there was any concern about flashing lights or what you consider to be more of a Las Vegas style, that’s not what’s going to be here.”
John Johnson, representative of 1734 Partners, which owns the property, said the building had operated as a restaurant for 20 years before closing in April 2024.
“I don’t think that was ever a nuisance to the surrounding neighborhood,” Johnson said. “So I don’t think that this new use would be any different than what we were doing.”
As for the liquor license attached to the property when it was operating as Old Chicago, Johnson said that license is being transferred to a proposed development in the former Big Lots location at 3501 E. Lincolnway, and is intended to be used across three new businesses: Wyoming Ale Works, Wyoming Discount Liquor and Bally’s OTB.
For the facility in the former Old Chicago location, the company is expected to pursue a bar and grill license.
The committee ultimately voted to recommend the council approve the resolution. It will go before the full City Council for final consideration Monday.
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