Kansas City, Kan. ? The Woodlands dog- and horse-racing track plans to open a temporary casino with as many as 800 slot machines by February, while building a $40 million to $50 million permanent casino and restaurant, its operators said this week.

The Kansas City, Kan., track must get state approval but has scheduled the remodeling of its dog track clubhouse to begin in August, said Jayme LaRocca, the Woodlands’ general manager.

Wyandotte County voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved ballot issues allowing The Woodlands to have slots and permitting a state-owned casino elsewhere in the county. The local approval was needed under the state’s new casino gambling law.

The Woodlands’ permanent casino will be built next to the track’s twin clubhouse for horse racing, on the other side of the 18-year-old complex’s 7,000-car parking lot.

The track, owned by Grace Cos. of St. Joseph, Mo., and operated by Kansas Racing LLC, opened in 1989 with revenues peaking in 1990 at $197 million. But the track has struggled since Missouri’s riverboat casinos opened in 1994, with wagers dropping each year.

Wagers fell to $64.4 million last year from $66.5 million in 2005.

The new slot machines could bring in an additional $58.4 million a year.

While preparations are proceeding quickly for a casino at The Woodlands and legalized gambling at as many as six other locations around the state, the constitutionality of the state’s gambling law could be tested in court.

Attorney General Paul Morrison has indicated he will file an action with the Kansas Supreme Court seeking an expedited decision but is waiting for the Kansas Lottery Commission to release its regulations.