Cherokee Nation Businesses has stepped into a legal battle initiated by an anti-casino group that is seeking to have the recent endorsement of its Pope County casino proposal voided.
The Cherokee Nation-managed company asked a Pulaski County circuit judge to dismiss that lawsuit as well as a complaint filed by the same group against the Arkansas Racing Commission.
Earlier this month, Pope County Judge Ben Cross and the county Quorum Court voted to sign a letter of support for a $225 million casino project proposed by Cherokee Nation Businesses. Judge Cross and the Justices of Peace selected the Cherokee plan over four other proposals.
Days after Pope County officials passed the resolution authorizing the endorsement for the Cherokee project, James Knight, on behalf of the Citizens for a Better Pope County group, filed a lawsuit in a Pulaski County court, arguing that said resolution clashed with a previous ordinance that Pope County voters passed during the November 2018 ballot. Under that ordinance, it is up to county voters to decide whether officials should support one casino proposal or another.
Cherokee Nation Seeks Dismissal of the Lawsuit
Cherokee Nation Businesses attorney Bart Calhoun filed last week a court document that seeks to have the suits filed by Citizens for a Better Pope County dismissed. The lawyer said in the legal document that the ordinance authorizing county voters to determine which casino proposal, if any, should be endorsed by county official was unconstitutional.
Arkansas voters approved during last November’s ballot Amendment 100 that allowed for the addition of Las Vegas-style casino gambling at the existing Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs and Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis, and the development of two new casinos in Pope and Jefferson Counties.
Pope County residents overwhelmingly rejected Amendment 100 last November and passed the ordinance that has now turned into a big bone of contention.
Under Amendment 100, an eligible casino proposal should contain letters of support from the office of the county judge and members of the county Quorum Court. Attorney Calhoun said in the court document that the ordinance adopted by Pope County voters “transfers the constitutionally granted authority from those two bodies to the voters of Pope County.”
The Cherokee Nation Businesses’ court filing goes on that the ordinance is a “direct contravention of Amendment 100” and that it “completely eviscerates the Constitution’s requirement that the county judge or the quorum court decide when, how, and who to support.” Mr. Calhoun further pointed out that the county judge and the Quorum Court’s decision to endorse Cherokee Nation’s casino proposal could not be invalidated as such invalidation would run against the Constitution.
The Cherokee Nation Casino Plan
The Arkansas Racing Commission rejected in June all five Pope County casino plans that it had received from interested developers. The regulator cited the lack of letters of support from current county officials as the reason for its decision. One of the proposals, the one submitted by the Gulfside Casino Partnership had letters of support obtained late last year from the county’s outgoing officials.
Following the recent endorsement of the Cherokee Nation’s project, the Racing Commission opened a new 90-day application window for interested developers. The Cherokee Nation quickly submitted an updated proposal.
The Oklahoma-based tribe had previously announced a partnership with hospitality company Legends for the development of a casino in Pope County. Legends Resort & Casino will be a $225 million complex with a 50,000-square-foot casino that will feature 1,200 slot machines, 32 table games, and sports betting, a 200-room hotel, a meeting and conference center, a pool, an outdoor music venue, an RV park, and an outdoor water park, among other amenities.
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Warner Gaming in partnership with Hard Rock International, the Kehl family of Iowa, and Gulfside Casino Partnership were the other four interested developers to submit proposals during the first application window launched by the Arkansas Racing Commission.
It is still unknown whether any of them would submit a new bid, particularly given the fact that they were all quite vocal about their disappointment by Pope County officials’ decision to endorse the Cherokee Nation project.
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