Dispute Over Pope County Casino Remains Unresolved Despite Arkansas Supreme Court Decision
Pope County in Arkansas was given permission to have one casino through a 2018 law. Yet, the area which includes Russellville is still without a commercial gaming facility after almost three years.
The Arkansas Supreme Court supported the Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) in their argument that they are the only qualified candidate for the Pope County casino license. However, Gulfside Casino Partnership believes otherwise.
CNB is the gaming arm of the Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation Native American group. They're up against Gulfside, a Mississippi-based development company led by riverboat casino pioneers Terry Green and Rick Carter.
It's been a while since Arkansas courts tried to determine whether CNB or Gulfside should receive the Pope County casino license, but a final verdict doesn't seem imminent, as evidenced by the state's top court's decision earlier this week.
Complex Origin
The Arkansas Racing Commission was given the task of choosing which casino plans to license in Pope and Jefferson counties. This resulted from the successful November 2018 gaming referendum.
This gaming expansion also allowed Oaklawn and Southland racetracks to become casinos with slots, table games, and sports betting. The Pope and Jefferson casinos were supposed to be new constructions.
Jefferson County partnered with the Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma and its Downstream Development Authority. Their facility, the Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, opened a year ago.
Pope County's situation is more complicated, with a legal struggle that's lasted for ages. Arkansas' gaming law stipulates that a casino presentation can only be considered qualified if it has the Pope County judge's backing.
Gulfside submitted its casino plan in late 2018 with Judge Ed Gibson's support. However, his term ended on December 31 of that year. CNB presented Charles County with a casino blueprint the following year, with Judge Ben Cross' support.
In June of 2020, the seven ARC commissioners graded both casino plans, scoring Gulfside 637 points versus CNB’s 572 points. The contest turned ugly when it was discovered that Commissioner Butch Rice had graded Gulfside 100/100 and the CNB plan only 29 points, leading to the commission's final decision.
The Arkansas Attorney General's office, led by Leslie Rutledge, became involved, and counsel working with ARC proposed awarding the license to Gulfside.
Courthouse Standoff
The Cherokee Nation sued as soon as Gulfside was crowned the winner. CNB's legal team argued that because Gulfside didn't possess the current judge's support at the time of submission, it wasn't qualified for the license.
Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox ruled in favor of Gulfside last year. He based his decision on the fact that the state gaming law didn't mention that a casino project had to be accompanied by present support from the county judge. But the Arkansas Supreme Court disagreed with that assessment.
The state's Supreme Court asserted that 'the' before 'county judge' implied the current sitting county judge. The Racing Commission only allowed casino applications in May 2019, after Judge Gibson's time in office had ended.
"The" before "county judge" means the specific, definite judge, the one currently in office—not a former or retired county judge—since they aren't "the" county judge," the majority opinion read.
CNB rejoiced with the win, while Gulfside was not convinced.
“We're disappointed by the Supreme Court's decision. This isn't the end of the road. We’ll continue working to create a top-notch entertainment destination in Pope County and bring good-paying jobs and economic development to the state," Gulfside Attorney Casey Castleberry said.
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Source: www.casino.org
