The Russellville City Council said this week that it would not review a casino application presented by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma because it was incomplete. The proposal was backed by the Pope County Quorum Court over the summer.
Following the City Council’s announcement, an official for Cherokee Nation Businesses, the company behind the tribal proposal, said that they have not actually applied to have their plan reviewed by city officials.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the Russellville City Council announced on Wednesday, shortly after the expiration of the deadline for casino applications to be submitted with city officials, that they have received four such applications, with the Cherokee Nation, Kehl Management of Iowa, Nevada-based Warner Gaming and Hard Rock International, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma being the interested bidders.
On Thursday, the office of Mayor Richard Harris announced that the Cherokee application has been tossed out because a consent and release form that is required to be part of the submission was not signed.
Cherokee Nation Businesses CEO Chuck Garrett said that the company has actually not applied for a review of its casino plan by the Community Gaming Evaluation Committee. The executive explained that Cherokee Nation Businesses delivered a project overview to elected officials in Pope County, including the members of the Russellville City Council, but that was not intended to be a submission to the evaluation committee. Instead, “it was further effort on our part to keep the community and elected officials informed.”
An Open and Transparent Process
The Russellville Community Gaming Evaluation Committee was set up in September and promised to provide residents of the city with an “open and transparent” process of learning more about the four developers that are bidding for the right to build a casino resort in Russellville.
Amendment 100, which Arkansas voters approved in last November’s ballot, authorized the development of two new casinos in Pope and Jefferson Counties and the addition of casino-style gambling at two existing racetracks in Hot Springs and West Memphis.
The Quapaw Tribe launched Saracen Casino Annex, a temporary facility that would service customers while the larger Saracen Casino Resort is under development, in Jefferson County this past Tuesday, while the two racetrack added casino options in April.
The proposed addition of a casino in Pope County has been surrounded by bitter controversies since last November’s vote when county voters rejected the statewide casino expansion.
Under Amendment 100, each casino proposal for both Jefferson and Pope Counties needs letters of support from county officials and judges. The Quapaw Tribe was able to quickly clear that hurdle, but that cannot be said about the Pope County casino expansion process.
In June, the Arkansas Racing Commission, which has the ultimate say in selecting the preferred developer for the Pope County gambling venue, rejected all five proposals it had received during the application process because none of them had letters of support from current county officeholders.
A bid presented by Gulfside Casino Partnership obtained such letters in late 2018 from outgoing officials. However, lawmakers introduced earlier this year a measure that specifically required developers to get support from current officeholders.
In August, the Pope County Quorum Court backed the Cherokee Nation Businesses’ proposal and was immediately accused by other bidders that the selection process was compromised as it was the result from secret meetings between Cherokee officials and Quorum Court members.
The Arkansas Racing Commission reopened the casino application process and interested developers now have until November 18 to submit their bids. However, with only one bidder with letters of support, the selection process will almost certainly see more controversy.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories
