[Detector]

Perhaps my passion of our history is clouding my view but I prefer to think it gives me better perception of its potential.

The same was thought of Las Vegas. It was in the middle of nowhere, poor roads and small airport. When addressing the same question as to its seclusion those with vision replied "Yes, it is in the middle of nowhere isn't it." Some saw this as a plus and have adopted the motto "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

From a historical junkie's view I also see our location as a plus. If I were to visit historical Dodge City I would expect it to be secluded. In the days of old Dodge City was the last stop in the middle of nowhere. While we have lost a lot of our local history we still maintain our isolation that I feel would be as big of draw today as it was back then.

A trip to famous Dodge City would today, as it did back then, requires a trip down the infamous Santa Fe Trail. To tourists with a passion for history this would simply be the icing on the cake.

"Where are the tourists coming from" you ask? The key word here is tourists. Why would people from nearby states want to drive all the way to Dodge City when they have their own casinos? The casinos to the east would draw more local patrons? The better question would be why would we want to draw local and surrounding area gamblers? The weekend gambler is also the majority of the "bad element" of gambling. We want to target tourists not the weekend gambler.

Again I say Dodge City stands alone in its potential for tourism.

Dodge City has more to gain and less to lose than any other area being considered. Our dual packing plants have given us a cesspool of social problems. I honestly believe the social problems of 2 such plants, and a city willing to roll out the immigrant red carpet, are far worse than any gambling could be. Of course it needs to be done right. That is to say we need to use our gambling draw for good and not evil. Evil being locals and good being tourists.

I see tourists coming to dodge as a central hub on a western themed vacation. From here they could be a short distance from many other historical sites. Famous Englewood as well as the Dalton hideout to name just a few. What fan of western history wouldn't love driving down the old Santa Fe Trail for a stay at Dodge City and a bit of gambling? Possibly the last chance to visit a rapidly vanishing real western frontier. If done right, gambling could well be our salvation.