With fanfare, speeches and authentic Quapaw drums, Saracen Casino Resort threw open its doors Tuesday to the public after more than a week of celebrations and sneak previews, not to mention nearly two years of anticipation after voters approved Amendment 100 to allow casinos to operate in the state.
Amendment 100 was passed in the November 2018 election to authorize gambling licenses to Oaklawn Jockey Club in Hot Springs, Southland Racing Corp. in West Memphis, and to as then unknown applicants in Jefferson and Pope counties. The measure passed with just over 54% of the vote, receiving 470,954 out of 870,484 ballots cast.
Quapaw Chairman Joseph Tali Byrd welcomed the crowd, estimated at about 1,000 people, for the official ribbon cutting for the first purpose-built casino in the state.
"I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my predecessor, Mr. John Berrey," Byrd said. "He worked hard to get us to this point and to make those relationships within this community."
Berrey, who served 20 years as chairman of the Quapaw Business Committee -- the governing body of the Quapaw Nation -- lobbied hard for the passage of Amendment 100, made numerous trips to Pine Bluff and Jefferson County, and was a driving force in uniting city and county officials behind the Quapaws for issuance of the Jefferson County gambling license.
Mayor Shirley Washington said the effort to build the casino began in earnest just before she took office as mayor and slowly built momentum through three county judges before truly starting up with the passage of Amendment 100.
"This all started with a conversation that started in 2016 when I was mayor-elect. That conversation has grown into an amazing relationship that has brought us here today," Washington said. "When we started that conversation we were with [former County Judge Henry "Hank"] Wilkins, then we went into our second judge, Booker Clemmons, and then we went into Judge [Gerald] Robinson, and we brought it full circle, we brought it home with Judge Robinson."
Robinson noted that the people of the Quapaw Nation, who consider Pine Bluff to be their ancestral home, were coming home to "a reborn city, a city with new life."
"They have invested in our community more than anyone has done in a generation," Robinson continued. "Thank you for seeing what we know is already here."
The county judge noted that while under construction, Saracen Casino Resort was the largest construction project in the state, and he called the now-opened casino the biggest tourist attraction in the state.
"For those who said it couldn't be done, just wait until you go inside," Robinson said. "Beautiful. Even a global pandemic couldn't stop the incredible people of the Quapaw Nation or the people of Jefferson County."
He noted the political infighting that has delayed the start of construction for a casino in Pope County and contrasted it with the ease at which Jefferson County, Pine Bluff, and Quapaw officials were able to move.
Byrd also noted the cooperative relationships that navigated the political pathway to completion of the $350 million, 200,000-square-foot resort with 80,000-square-foot gambling floor with relative ease.
"There's at least two, maybe three different cultures that are present here," Byrd said. "And that's what this project is about. It's about different people from different cultures coming together for one shared vision, standing in solidarity with one another for the future of our people, for the future of our community."
As the ribbon was cut, the doors were opened, and people began to stream inside to the temperature-check stations. They then began to fan out through the gambling floor, some signing up for player's club cards, some heading straight to the slot machines or tables, and some making a beeline to sample the food.
Saracen Casino Resort will be open seven days a week. Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. until 2 a.m. Masks, social distancing, and sanitary practices will be enforced.
