EXHIBIT 31.1
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                                  CERTIFICATION

I, William F. Wright, certify that:

    1.   I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of AMCON
         Distributing Company;

    2.   Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
         untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
         fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
         circumstances under which such statements were made, not
         misleading with respect to the period covered by this quarterly
         report;

    3.   Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
         financial information included in this report, fairly
         present in all material respects the financial condition, results
         of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the
         periods presented in this report;

    4.   The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible
         for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures
         (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
          registrant and have:

         a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
            disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
            supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
            registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made
            known to us by others within those entities, particularly during
            the period in which this report is being prepared;

         b. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
            controls and procedures and presented in this report our
            conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls
            and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this
            report based on such evaluation; and

         c. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
            control over financial reporting that occurred during the
            registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
            fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has
            materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially
            affect, the registrant's internal control over financial
            reporting; and

   5.   The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
         based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over
         financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
         committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons
         performing the equivalent functions):

         a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
            design or operation of internal control over financial reporting
            which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's
            ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
            information; and

         b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
            other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
            internal control over financial reporting.



Date: February 9, 2004                     William F. Wright, Chairman and
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                                           Principal Executive Officer
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