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June 12, 2024 at 6:25 p.m.
by Michael R. Wickline
The Arkansas Racing Commission on Wednesday voted to accept an application from Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation Entertainment for the Pope County casino license, but not to accept an application for the casino license from Mississippi-based Gulfside Casino Partnership.
In a voice vote with no audible dissenters, the commission determined the casino application from Cherokee Nation Entertainment is complete, including a letter of support from Pope County Judge Ben Cross, and that the application from Gulfside Casino Partnership is incomplete because it lacked a letter of support from the county judge or a resolution of support from the county Quorum Court.
In other action Wednesday, the commission voted to formally close the application period for the Pope County casino license that ended Tuesday, to hire consultant James Fox of Scottsdale, Ariz., to review the Cherokee Nation Entertainment casino application and send it to him, and to hold a June 27 meeting to hear a presentation from Cherokee Nation Entertainment officials.
Doralee Chandler, deputy attorney general for state agencies, said Fox will charge the commission $300 an hour with a maximum fee of $20,000 based on up to two casino applications. She said Fox will have to review the Cherokee Nation Entertainment application and appear at the commission’s June 27 meeting where Cherokee Nation Entertainment officials will appear and the commission will score the application.
The Arkansas Racing Commission’s actions Wednesday came several days after the Pope County Quorum Court on Thursday narrowly rejected a resolution to support Gulfside Casino Partnership’s proposal to operate a casino in the county. Cherokee Nation Entertainment formally submitted its application to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration on June 5. Gulfside Casino Partnership submitted its application late Tuesday afternoon, said Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration.
GULFSIDE’S APPLICATION INCOMPLETE
During the commission’s meeting Wednesday, Chandler told the commission that under the racing commission casino gaming rules that a casino license application is not complete and will not be considered “unless all required information, documentation and the application fee are timely received by the commission.” In this instance the application submitted by Gulfside Casino Partnership did not contain the letter of support from the county judge or documentation of support from the county Quorum Court.
“There is no letter of support,” she said. “Therefore it is not considered a complete application and should not be considered from our recommendation at this point in time pursuant to Rule 8 C.”
Commissioner Steve Anthony of Fordyce questioned whether it would be helpful for the commission to send the Gulfside Casino Partnership application to the consultant so it would be included in the consultant’s report that the application is incomplete.
Chandler said, “Under Rule 8 C it should not be considered at all.
“Under the rules for scoring, the scoring of the application is in anticipation of a complete application. It is my position on this matter that the application is not complete. Therefore, it should not be considered by the commission or the consultant pursuant to Rule 8 C.”
Commission Chairman Alex Lieblong of Conway said the application for the Pope County casino license hinges on a letter of support from the Pope County judge or a resolution of support from the Pope County Quorum Court for the casino application.
Chandler said one of the minimum qualifications for the Pope County casino license application under the casino gaming rule is that there must be a letter of support from the county judge or county Quorum Court.
Anthony said “we know there is going to be litigation about this,” so he questioned whether it enhances the commission’s position if it has a report from the consultant the application is not complete and not compliant with Amendment 100 of the Arkansas Constitution.
Chandler said “I think Rule 8 covers you that this is not a complete application and therefore it should not be considered.”
Anthony said he would defer to Chandler’s judgment.
CHURCHILL DOWNS LETTER
In a letter dated Tuesday to Lieblong, Jason Sauer, senior vice president of corporate development for Churchill Downs Inc., said Churchill Downs has “continued interest in a license to operate a casino in Pope County,” and efforts to submit an application to the Arkansas Racing Commission for such a license.
But he wrote “[W]e have been unsuccessful in meeting the Local Support Requirement due to actions to manipulate the local process and prevent the ARC [Arkansas Racing Commission] from having any meaningful role in the selection of the Pope County casino operator.”
Sauer said that Churchill Downs has been engaged in the Pope County casino process since an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling in October 2023.
“CDI expressly reserves all of its rights in respect of this matter, but remains committed to working with local officials and other community stakeholders in the months and years ahead for the betterment of all Pope County and Northwest Arkansas,” Sauer wrote in his two-page letter.
After the Arkansas Racing Commission meeting Wednesday, Casey Castleberry, counsel for Gulfside Casino Partnership, said in a written statement, “We are still weighing our options and considering next steps.”
Afterward, Chuck Garrett, chief executive officer for Cherokee Nation Entertainment, said in a written statement, “We appreciate the ongoing efforts of the Arkansas Racing Commission and the Attorney General’s office to ensure a smooth process with respect to issuance of the Pope County casino license.
“As the only qualified applicant, we are eager to stand before the Arkansas Racing Commission where we will demonstrate Cherokee Nation Entertainment’s more than 30 years of experience in gaming and hospitality, its strong financial position, and plans for a world-class casino resort in Pope County.”
CHEROKEE NATION’S PLANS
Cherokee Nation Entertainment’s proposed development plans include a more than $300 million investment in Pope County featuring a 50,000-square-foot casino with 1,200 slot machines, 32 table games, a poker room and sportsbook, a 200-room hotel with a resort pool and luxury spa, numerous dining options ranging from grab-and-go to a sit-down steakhouse, and a multipurpose space to accommodate meetings, conferences, concerts and special events, according to the company. The development also includes an outdoor music venue and a water park, along with RV and dog parks.
The development site is northeast of Russellville on land just north of Interstate 40 between the Weir Road exit to the west and the Bradley Cove Road exit to the east.
On May 6, the Arkansas Racing Commission voted to authorize the new application period for the Pope County casino license that started May 12 and ended Tuesday, as well as approve the application criteria and score sheet that will be used by the commission to award the license.
At that time, the commission also approved the application criteria and score sheet under which each commissioner may grant each application up to 30 points for experience conducting casino gaming, up to 30 points for proof of financial stability and access to financial resources, up to 30 points for a detailed summary of the proposed casino, and up to 10 points for a timeline for opening.
The points awarded by each racing commissioner for each criterion will be totaled for a single score for each application and voted on by the commission, and the points will be totaled for each application. The applications will be ranked from the highest total score to the lowest, according to the application criteria and score sheet approved by the commission. Each application could earn up to 700 total points, according to Chandler.
PREVIOUS LICENSES
Amendment 100 to the Arkansas Constitution authorized what is now called Southland Casino Hotel in West Memphis and Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs to expand into full-fledged casinos. The amendment also allows the racing commission to license a casino apiece in Jefferson and Pope counties, and authorized sports betting at the casinos.
In June 2019, the commission awarded the Jefferson County license to the Oklahoma-based Downstream Development Authority of the Quapaw Nation. The commission subsequently voted to transfer the license to Saracen Development LLC. The casino in Pine Bluff is now called Saracen Casino Resort.
In 2020, the Arkansas Racing Commission awarded the Pope County casino license to Gulfside Casino Partnership.
In October 2021, the state Supreme Court reversed an earlier ruling by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox that declared unconstitutional a commission rule and state law that required letters of endorsement for casino licenses come from local officials in office at the time the license application is submitted. That led the commission in November 2021 to nullify the license granted to Gulfside and issue the license instead to Legends/Cherokee consortium. Gulfside’s letter of support was signed by former Pope County Judge Ed Gibson, just days before his term expired Dec. 31, 2018.
Gulfside challenged the commission’s decision in November 2021 to award the license to the Legends/Cherokee consortium, asking Fox to void the license to the consortium.
In a 5-2 ruling Oct. 26, the state’s Supreme Court affirmed a ruling by Fox issued in January 2023. Fox ruled the racing commission erred by awarding the license to two entities when the Arkansas Constitution states only a single entity can hold a casino license and that Legends does not meet licensing requirements written into the Arkansas Constitution because the company has no prior casino experience. The Legends/Cherokee consortium appealed Fox’s ruling to the state Supreme Court.
On Jan. 11, the Arkansas Supreme Court denied a petition seeking a rehearing in the case in which the court ruled the Arkansas Racing Commission’s award of the Pope County casino license to Legends Resort and Casino and Cherokee Nation Businesses violated Amendment 100.
BALLOT PROPOSALS
In August 2022, the Fair Play for Arkansas committee narrowly failed to submit enough signatures to get a similar proposal on the 2022 general election ballot, Republican Secretary of State John Thurston said. The Choctaw Nation helped finance the committee.
On Jan. 24 of this year, the Local Voters in Charge ballot committee filed a statement of organization with the Arkansas Ethics Commission. Jim Knight of Russellville is president of the committee and Bill James of Russellville is treasurer, according to the committee’s filing. Rick Thone of Russellville and Hans Stiritz are the committee’s general officers.
On March 20, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin revised and certified ballot language for a proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal the racing commission’s authority to issue a casino license in Pope County and require local voter approval in a countywide special election for a new casino license outside of three counties in Arkansas.
The Republican attorney general’s action cleared the way for the Local Voters in Charge ballot committee to begin collecting signatures of registered voters in its bid to qualify its proposed constitutional amendment for the Nov. 5 general election ballot. The committee will be required to turn in 90,704 signatures of registered Arkansas voters, including signatures from 50 counties, to the secretary of state’s office by July 5 to qualify the proposed constitutional amendment for the general election ballot.
Hans Stiritz, a spokesman for the Local Voters in Charge committee, said Wednesday that “We’re not releasing signature counts at this time, but are satisfied by, and grateful for, the work of our paid and volunteer canvassers across the state.”
Through the end of April, the Local Voters in Charge committee reported raising $1.25 million in contributions and spending $652,713.65, leaving $597,386.35 in the bank as of April 30. Through April 30, the committee reported receiving a total of $1.25 million in contributions from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
On May 3, the Investing in Arkansas ballot committee registered with the Arkansas Ethics Commission to advocate for the protection of Amendment 100 and “promote the continued investments and economic development benefits, including hundreds of jobs and millions in annual tax revenue to the State, provided because of Amendment 100,” according to its filing.
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