Casino operator asks for appeal after rejected for Pope County site

FILE — A roulette wheel spins at Cherokee Casino & Hotel in West Siloam Springs, Okla.
FILE — A roulette wheel spins at Cherokee Casino & Hotel in West Siloam Springs, Okla.

A Mississippi casino operator is appealing the state Racing Commission's rejection of a bid to build a $200 million casino resort in Pope County, a state official said Friday.

Casey Castleberry, an attorney for Gulfside Casino Partnership, did not give a reason for requesting the appeal in a letter to the Racing Commission but simply asked for a hearing before the governing body "to appeal the Commission's decision.

"As the only Pope County applicant that met the requirements of Amendment 100, Gulfside is hopeful the Arkansas Racing Commission will reverse its denial and award a license to River Valley Casino Resort," Castleberry said.

The business is based in Gulfport, Miss.

Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the Department of Finance and Administration, which oversees the Racing Commission, said Gulfside's appeal will be heard at the commission's next meeting, which will be 11 a.m. July 18.

"We anticipate the commission will make a decision on the appeal at the close of the hearing," Hardin said.

On June 13, the Racing Commission approved an application from the Quapaw Nation to build a casino in Pine Bluff but rejected all five of the bids for a casino license in Pope County because none of the applicants had letters of support from current local government officials.

[RELATED: Complete Democrat-Gazette coverage of casinos in Arkansas]

Hardin said none of the other four Pope County applicants -- Warner Gaming of Las Vegas; Choctaw Nation of Durant, Okla.; Cherokee Nation Business of Catoosa, Okla.; and Kehl Management of Dubuque, Iowa -- have appealed the decision to date.

When contacted, Bill Warner of Warner Gaming said the group has no intentions of appealing the denial.

"We remain committed to bringing the Hard Rock Arkansas to Pope County and believe the best way to do that is by reaching out to the local community, not by suing the state," Warner said. "We will continue to build on the excitement for our project by communicating our plans, project amenities, and economic impact to voters in Pope County as this process moves forward."

Cherokee Nation Businesses Chief Executive Officer Shawn Slaton also said his business will not appeal the commission's decision.

"Earlier this year, we expressed our full support for the Arkansas State Racing Commission's rules which correctly required, pursuant to Amendment 100, that letters must be from current elected officials," Slaton said. "We remain committed to working alongside the community in Pope County and earning the letters of support from local officials."

Messages left for Choctaw Nation and Kehl Management were not returned as of late Friday.

Arkansas voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 100 to the state constitution last year. The amendment allows casinos to be placed in Pope and Jefferson counties -- which currently have no gambling facilities -- and allows Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs and Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis to expand their operations into full-fledged casinos.

The amendment requires written endorsements from local government officials in Pope and Jefferson counties but did not specify when the letters must be obtained.

Gulfside's application package included endorsements from Jim Ed Gibson, then-county judge of Pope County, and Randy Horton, then mayor of Russellville. The letters were issued just before the two left office at the end of December.

Since then, the Racing Commission ruled earlier this year that the endorsements can come only from officials in office at the time the application is submitted. Also, Act 371, which was passed by the Legislature this year and became effective in March, requires that the letters of support come from current officeholders.

Castleberry told the commission previously that limiting the required endorsements is not in line with the constitutional amendment and has said previously that Gulfside would take the commission to court if its application was denied.

Meanwhile, Pope County leaders and residents -- who overwhelmingly rejected Amendment 100 at the polls and approved an ordinance that any endorsement by local officials would require voter approval -- are considering a local election to gauge the support for a casino in the area, the current county judge, Ben Cross, told the commissioners in June.

Cross, who took office in January, has been consistent in his pledge to not support any casino in the county unless Pope County voters want it there.

When contacted Friday, Cross said the Pope County Quorum Court is looking "for some sort of mechanism to get it back in front of the voters."

"I anticipate it will be sometime in the fall," Cross said. "But I do not anticipate that a special election will be held. I would look for it to occur at the same time we have a regular election. The full cost of a special election would be carried by the county, but the issue could be added to a regular ballot with no additional costs."

Cross said the casino interests have dug their heels into Pope County soil.

"They've actually made Russellville their home it seems. They've pretty much set up shop here," Cross said. "I hear from them weekly, but I'm not going to do anything unless the voters tell me to."

The Racing Commission voted at its meeting earlier this month to open the application process for 90 days if an applicant comes forward with the required letters of support for the Pope County casino license.

Metro on 06/29/2019

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