Cerner purchased an 80,000-sf main building, an entertainment pavilion and a 1,300-slot parking garage on about 22 acres, most of which is vacant.

The property will be redeveloped into the Cerner Leadership Academy, with facilities being used for training programs and corporate meetings. The facility may at some point be used exclusively as a conference center, according to Cerner officials.

"At such a compelling price, the company couldn't afford to pass up the opportunity,'' says Cerner Chief Executive Neal Patterson.

The property was placed on the auction block in February. Cerner was one of several bidders. Sam's Town was built for $147 million by the Boyd Gaming Corp., based in Las Vegas. It was opened in 1995. Harrah's listed the property for sale in 1999 at a price of $7.5 million. At auction, the minimum bid was $3 million.

When Sam's closed in July of 1998, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. paid $12.5 million for the buildings and the riverboat, Judy's Prize. The gambling boat was not part of the Cerner purchase, it has since been sent down the river to Lake Charles to update a casino there.

Restrictions placed on the purchase disallowed any future gambling establishments at the site.

Cerner's main campus is scheduled to undergo a $120-million upgrade beginning this summer. The campus includes a 120,000-sf headquarters building, day-care facility and fitness and aquatic center. The company opened a global data center last fall in Lee's Summit in eastern Jackson County.