A Wichita-based investment group including former Mayor Bob Knight on Monday applied to build and manage a $225æmillion casino in the southeast corner of the state.

Investors envision a casino that would draw customers from a four-state region, Knight said.

The first phase would include a casino with 900 slot machines and 30 gaming tables, a 30-seat coffee and pastry shop, a 225-seat buffet, a lounge and retail space, said Keith Kocher, the Kansas Lottery’s director of gaming facilities.

The facility — which would be called Ozark Trail Casino — would also include a hotel, Knight said, though he couldn’t provide details.

If the state approves the proposal, Wichita-based Ozark Trail Gaming LLC would build the casino in Cherokee County at U.S. 166/400, one mile north of I-44, the Lottery officials said.

The location makes economic sense for a number of reasons, said Knight, a former longtime Wichita mayor and former Kansas commerce secretary who has been involved in other casino proposals.

The proposed site is essentially adjacent to Downstream Casino Resort, just across the border in Oklahoma, Knight said.

Although that could be seen as competition for the Kansas casino, the investors think it would help draw customers to their facility, Knight said.

“They’re going to draw a lot of people. I think we’re going to draw a lot of people,” he said.

Last year, another group — Penn Hollywood Kansas — withdrew its application to build a casino in southeast Kansas in part because of anticipated competition with Downstream, said Kocher, the Lottery official.

The state had set a Monday deadline for investors to submit proposals to build a casino in southeast Kansas. Ozark Trail Gaming was the only one to meet the deadline.

Knight said he and the other investors are confident that their Cherokee County proposal would offer a “world-class casino” that would co-exist with Downstream and prosper because it is on the way to Branson, Mo.

They are betting on drawing customers from a four-state market including Springfield and Joplin, Mo.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Tulsa; and Wichita, Knight said. The investment would pay off for the state, southeastern Kansas and for the investment group, he said.

Although the numbers could change, he said, the investors conservatively estimate that the casino would bring in at least $100æmillion in its first full year. The investors would also pay a $25æmillion “privilege fee” to the state.

According to Lottery officials, the managing member of the investment group is Wichita attorney Henry Blase, also listed as trustee of the Schultz Family Trust; Knight; and Wichita investment banker Theron Froggatte. Knight said he expects the investment group will grow.

The Lottery has 90 days to review the application and negotiate a contract with the applicant. If a contract is worked out, the Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board would consider it.