The craps and blackjack tables were full immediately after opening on the first day Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort opened as a full casino Monday, a spokesman said.
The Hot Springs racetrack for thoroughbreds -- previously known as Oaklawn Racing and Gaming -- as well as Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis got approval last week from the state Racing Commission for an April 1 opening date of expanded gambling options.
"We had a great turnout," said Jennifer Hoyt, a spokesman for Oaklawn Jockey Club.
Messages left for Southland, a greyhound track, were not returned as of late Monday.
Monday's debut of Oaklawn's two live craps tables and six live blackjack tables were the beginning of a more than $100 million expansion over the next two years that will include a 200-room hotel and 28,000 more square feet of casino floor space.
Construction is set to begin May 6, two days after closing day of the current live race meet, Hoyt said.
The expansion comes after Arkansas voters in November passed constitutional Amendment 100, which allows casino licenses to be awarded to Oaklawn and Southland as well as one each in Pope and Jefferson counties, which now have no legal gambling operations.
Southland is in the midst of a $250 million expansion plan that includes a 20-story hotel, a 113,0000-square-foot casino complex, more dining options, a new player lounge and center, and lobby and steakhouse bars.
Both tracks are gearing up for sports betting.
"Oaklawn and Southland must each submit to the commission an operation plan for the sports book prior to accepting a wager on any sporting event," said Scott Hardin, spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration. The finance department oversees the Racing Commission, the agency to govern casino licensing and operation. "We anticipate the plans will be submitted over the next month."
Hoyt confirmed that Oaklawn would have sports betting "up and running in the coming weeks."
Glen White, a spokesman for Delaware North, which has owned and operated the 63-year-old greyhound racing venue since the mid-1970s, said previously that the casino doesn't have an opening date yet for sports betting.
Last week, the Racing Commission announced that the application period for new casinos in Pope and Jefferson counties would open May 1 and close May 31.
Hardin said Racing Commission employees are working closely with commission attorney Byron Freeland to prepare for the application period.
"Protocols are in place to ensure the continued smooth implementation of Amendment 100, from accepting and reviewing applications to issuance of licenses," Hardin said.
Once the applications are received, Racing Commission members will review each application with a "consultant available to answer questions and provide guidance as needed," Hardin said.
Any applications for the Pope and Jefferson counties that do not include a letter of support from current local officials will be rejected, Hardin said.
Amendment 100 requires the endorsements, but does not designate when they have to be submitted. Last month, the Racing Commission approved the regulations that included a rule -- changed after a public outcry from Pope County residents -- to only accept letters of support from current officeholders at the time of the application.
"The rules clearly state each application must be accompanied by a letter of support from current local leadership," Hardin said. "If this requirement is disregarded, the application would simply not meet the minimum criteria to move forward."
The rule change knocks out letters of support from Pope County and Russellville officials who, just before leaving office at the end of December, submitted endorsement letters for a Gulfside Casino Partnership proposal to build a 600-room, $254 million hotel and casino in Russellville.
Current Pope County and Russellville officials said they will not throw their support behind a casino proposal unless it is the will of their constituents.
Ben Cross, the county judge of Pope County, said previously that several casino interests have pitched proposals to him and have said they will submit a license application even without the constitutionally required endorsement letters.
Quapaw Nation Chairman John Berrey said previously that endorsements have already been given by current Jefferson County and Pine Bluff officials for the proposed Saracen Casino Resort, a $240 million project that will be located near The Pines mall.
A legislative bill that would have changed Amendment 100 to allow one of the four casino licenses to go to either Pope, Johnson or Conway County, failed to make it past legislators last week.
House Bill 1563 -- sponsored by Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Clarksville -- failed by a vote of 47-22 in the 100-member House.
Other bills relating to the casino measure are making their way through the Capitol.
Senate Bill 404 by Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, is in committee now and would bar the Racing Commission from issuing a casino license in Pope County unless approved by voters of the county at the polls.
Davis is also co-sponsor on a nearly identical House bill by Rep. Joe Cloud, R-Russellville. HB1517 is currently on the agenda for Wednesday's House Rules Committee.
Senate Bill 498 -- by Sen. Mark Johnson, R-Little Rock -- would require sports betting to be confined to sporting events that occur outside the state and that do not involve amateur athletes.
Both SB404 and SB498 are on today's agenda for the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Metro on 04/02/2019