Horse Palace Swan Ranch opens its doors

CHEYENNE — Wyoming Horse Racing hosted community members and elected officials Friday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the new $25 million Horse Palace at Swan Ranch.

Though there’s no actual horses there, the 30,000-square-foot facility houses many slot machines and other gaming machines in an area called the “player’s club,” a concert stage, a bar that wraps around the wall leading into a steakhouse, and, eventually, a Dunkin’ Donuts.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, attendees were treated to an open bar, food and even some free cowboy hats.

The ceremony began with remarks from Nick Hughes, president of Pacesetter Racing & Gaming, the company that acquired WHR in 2021, inheriting all nine of its locations across the state.

Hughes estimated between 70% and 75% of their customers will come from the Colorado market, which is why they built it close to the border. Such a facility would not have been allowed in Colorado because historic horse racing, a type of gaming that WHR runs, is illegal in that state.

When working with Kentucky Downs, Hughes said he invested in a similar facility in Kentucky near the Tennessee border, with potential to tap into the Nashville market due to varying gaming regulations between the states.

In July, WHR has plans to break ground on a similar facility near Evanston, with hopes to tap into the Utah market.

“Obviously, you can’t open this everywhere because you need to be close to a border,” Hughes said. “There’s only so many opportunities, but Utah, for us, in Evanston, will be a carbon copy of this (Swan Ranch facility).”

Horse Palace Swan Ranch grand opening

Pacesetter Racing & Gaming managing partners, from left, Nick Hughes, John Sheldon III and Peter Ligouri listen as Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins speaks during the grand opening of the Horse Palace Swan Ranch off of the High Plains Road exit west of Interstate 25 on Friday.

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins recalled his excitement when he first met with Hughes and his partners around two years ago at the potential of bringing Colorado dollars into the Cheyenne economy.

“They shared with me a vision of building a center like this that would be targeted toward bringing people out of Colorado, into Wyoming, and hopefully having them bleed some tax dollars and go home,” he said. “And I thought, ‘What a great idea, right?’”

Hughes estimated that the Swan Ranch facility will produce between $2.6 million and $3 million in tax dollars to be split among the state, county and city.

Collins sees these numbers as potential for the city to invest in the public, such as hiring more police officers or more firefighters.

Attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were the first to break in the new gaming machines and dance floor, as local band Brian Brooks and The Incorrigibles filled the room with outlaw country music.

Horse Palace Swan Ranch grand opening

Louis Olson reacts to Coin Trio Piggy Burst during the grand opening of the Horse Palace Swan Ranch off of the High Plains Road exit west of Interstate 25 on Friday. “All the years growing up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, we weren’t allowed to gamble,” she recalls. “It’s fun,” she exclaims as the game rattles off another round. “I do enjoy it, I just need to make sure I don’t lose it all. I’ll play $35, then I’ll move on to another machine.”

Louis Olson, who said she is in her 80s, sat at one of the gaming machines. She said this kind of facility was not allowed in Cheyenne when she was growing up here. Olson is excited about the new Horse Palace because she said there’s not much to do in the area at her age. To be sure she doesn’t lose too much money, she gave herself a rule of only playing $35 in one machine and then moving on to another one.

Another attendee who sat at one of the gaming machines said he had not been as lucky with the machines. He estimated that in his lifetime he’s lost $20,000 using WHR machines.

“Wyoming deserves this (facility), Cheyenne deserves this, Evanston deserves this,” Hughes said. “It needs to have something that they can look at and be proud of.”

Horse Palace Swan Ranch officially opens to the public Saturday and is nearly complete.

Steven Jimenez, WHR executive general manager, said they’re currently operating with a condensed menu, with plans to expand soon, and the Dunkin’ Donuts location will likely open in mid-July.

Currently, the facility has 140 full- and part-time jobs. Hughes said they have to expand in stages, with potential to create 340 jobs at some point in the future, though no specific plans have been announced.