Appeal for Casino Rejected by Arkansas Supreme Court, License Returned to Board
The Arkansas Supreme Court dismisses Cherokee Nation Businesses’ appeal for a casino license, deeming it a violation of casino bidding rules. The $300 million Legends Casino in Russellville is under dispute; the bidding process will resume after the license reverts to the Arkansas Racing Commission, where it has been pending for more than five years.
Appeal filed by Cherokee Nation in Arkansas casino license dispute denied
The Arkansas Supreme Court will not take up the appeal that Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) has filed in relation to the Legends Resort & Casino that it intends to construct in Russellville. The Arkansas Racing Commission made a mistake when it granted CNB, the Cherokee Nation's commercial business unit in Oklahoma, a commercial casino license that was meant for Pope County, according to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox's ruling this month a year ago.
Upon examining a lawsuit submitted by Gulfside Casino Partnership, a rival bidder for a casino in Mississippi, Fox deduced that the Cherokee proposal contravened Arkansas Constitution Amendment 100.
Voters in the state approved the amendment in November 2018 that permits a single casino in the counties of Pope, Garland, Crittenden, and Jefferson. However, due to the requirements of the casino bidding, the state Racing Commission could only consider pitches from single entities.
Fox came to the conclusion that CNB applied jointly with the recently founded Legends Resort & Casino, LLC. The state Supreme Court declined to reexamine the case last week. By a vote of 5-2, the Supreme Court upheld Fox's ruling from October.
Pope County Casino License Is Back Up for Grabs
The Cherokee's formal appeal settlement resulted in the return of the Pope County casino license to the Arkansas Racing Commission. The state gaming regulator is expecting more bids, but Legends Casino's $300 million offer is probably the only one that makes the cut.
In unrelated legal proceedings, the Arkansas court system determined that bidders require the support of the county judge or quorum court that is currently in office. The Pope County Quorum Court voted 7–6 in favor of the CNB proposal last month. Ben Cross, the Pope County judge, has also endorsed the Legends project.
Before departing in December 2018, former Pope County Judge Ed Gibson wrote a letter of support for Gulfside in their prior application. Gibson wrote the letter on his last day of work. The $254 million River Valley Casino Resort in Russellville was proposed by Gulfside.
Fox rejected the Gulfside plan and ruled against the Cherokees in January 2023 after determining that "the county judge" in Amendment 100 refers to the current judge rather than a former county judge.
It is expected that CNB will submit a new application as a single entity, most likely identifying itself as Legends Resort & Casino, LLC, which it owns in its entirety.
Pope County Casino License Delay Continues Despite Bias Scandal
More than five years after Arkansans approved the Pope County casino, the gaming license has still not been awarded. The three other counties now have casinos in the interim.
In 2020, the Pope County controversy erupted. It was then revealed that the Gulfside bid had received a perfect score of 100 out of 100 from Racing Commissioner Butch Rice, while the Cherokee plan had received a score of only 29 out of 100 because of bias. Despite the fact that Rice's scoring had turned the tide overall in Gulfside's favor, the Racing Commission decided to award the license to the Cherokees.
That sparked the lawsuit, and the lawyers for Gulfside and Cherokee have been arguing over the casino concession ever since.
