Arkansas Supreme Court rejects casino's appeal and returns license to board
The Arkansas Supreme Court will not hear an appeal filed by Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) over its proposed Legends Resort & Casino in Russellville.
A year ago this month, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled that the Arkansas Racing Commission made an error when it awarded a Pope County commercial casino license to CNB, the business arm of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. . In reviewing a lawsuit challenging a grant from rival Mississippi's Gulfside Casino Partnership, Fox concluded that Cherokee's bid violated rules under Amendment 100 of the Arkansas Constitution.
State voters passed an amendment in November 2018 allowing a casino in Crittenden, Garland, Jefferson and Pope counties. Casino bidding rules, however, require the state horse racing commission to consider only bids from sole proprietors.
Fox concluded that CNB filed the application jointly with a newly formed company, Legends Resort & Casino, LLC. The state Supreme Court decided last week to refuse to reconsider the case. The Supreme Court upheld Fox's decision in a 5-2 decision in October.
License returned to Racing Commission
Pope County's casino license was returned to the Arkansas Racing Commission after the Cherokees' appeal was formally resolved. State gaming regulators are expected to hold a new round of bids, but the $300 million Legends Casino is considered the only qualified bid.
In a separate lawsuit, the Arkansas court system requires bidders to have the support of a current district judge or a current circuit court judge. Last month, the Pope County Common Pleas Court voted 7-6 in favor of the CNB proposal. Pope County Judge Ben Cross also supported the development of Legend.
Gulfside previously submitted a letter of support from former Pope County Judge Ed Gibson, who pledged his support on the last day of his term before leaving office in December 2018. Gulfside is building a $254 million casino in Russellville called the River Valley Casino Resort.
While Fox ruled against the Cherokees in January 2023, he also questioned the Bay Area plan when he ruled that "district judge" in Amendment 100 referred to a current judge, not Former District Judge.
CNB is expected to refile as a single entity, likely called Legends Resort & Casino, LLC, which will be wholly owned by the company.
Licensing woes continue
More than five years since Arkansas approved a casino in Pope County, a gaming license still has not been issued. At the same time, casinos in three other counties have opened.
The controversy in Pope County began in 2020. At the time, racing commissioner Butch Rice was found to be biased when he rated the Gulfside scheme a perfect 100 out of 100, while the Cherokee scheme scored only 29/100. The Racing Board decided to exclude Rice's score because it affected Bayside's overall finish and elected to award the license to Cherokee.
That sparked a legal dispute, and Cherokee and Gulfside attorneys have been fighting over the casino concession ever since. Reiser no longer serves on the seven-member state commission.
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Source: www.casino.org
