Topeka ? Penn National Gaming Inc. wants to operate the state-owned casino in Wyandotte County.

Penn filed its application Wednesday with the Kansas Lottery. The application deadline is 5 p.m.

Penn proposed a $500 million project built in two phases. There would be a casino with 2,000 slot machines and a 250-room hotel with ancillary facilities. It would be at the intersection of Interstate 435 and Parallel Parkway in Kansas City, Kan.

On Monday, a partnership of Kansas Speedway and Baltimore-based Cordish Co. also applied for the 15-year contract to operate the casino.

The application process was reopened after the speedway group withdrew in December. This is the third time for Penn to apply in Kansas. It previously applied in Cherokee and Sumner counties.