Cherokee casino group outlines Pope County plans

Arkansas Times, August 12, 2019 by Max Brantley

• A special meeting of the Pope County Quorum Court is scheduled Tuesday. One prediction: The Quorum Court will vote to repeal the ordinance requiring a local vote before elected officials could sign off on a casino application.
• Prediction two: Details will emerge of promised cash contributions to county projects from a winning casino developer. Has this money been solicited by local officials?
• This is just about the smell you’d expected to arise from opening the door to a license to operate a casino cash machine in Pope County. It’s thick with politics. Former Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has been working for the Cherokee effort for a long time. It gained heft when it joined hands with an entertainment company whose owners include Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones. Jones has local clout through his in-laws, the Chambers family in neighboring Yell County. Various prominent lobbyists and lawyers and PR agencies have been working for the competing interests.

Just think about what else might go in on all of that empty land next to and near the 135 acre Cherokee/Legends property along Hob Nob and Weir Roads.

That includes the long-delayed development on the 70 acres next to the interstate owned by New York real estate developer Joe Roosa.

In a May 2019 Facebook post, The Courier shared, ” Joe Roosa said he was on the development site a couple of weeks ago that he’s owned for 13 years off Interstate 40 and Weir Road.  ‘It is a Class A location,’ Roosa said. ‘You have half a mile visibility. Travel on I-40 is an asset to the community. We’ve been trying to do the right thing all along. Our vision for Russellville hasn’t changed. We love the community, and I think our commitment there should reflect that.'” (Note: the referenced article link returns “403 – Access Forbidden”)

2 casino-license rivals claim to be shut out of Pope County

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 11, 2019, by Jeannie Roberts

• In a letter dated Saturday to Ben Cross, county judge of Pope County, Warner Gaming CEO Bill Warner said his company was told by Cross that the endorsement would go to the Cherokee Nation Businesses of Catoosa, Okla. The letter was obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
• John Burris, spokesman for the Choctaw Nation Division of Commerce of Durant, Okla., said in a telephone interview with the Democrat-Gazette that Cross called Friday to say that a resolution would be issued to the Cherokee Nation at Tuesday’s special meeting of the Quorum Court.
• (Justice of the Peace) Jackson said he was not privy to any information that Cherokee Nation Businesses had been selected, but said that all five of the proposals would be reviewed at the Tuesday meeting and that a decision will be made then on which company would be awarded the endorsement.

Selected comments from Facebook, where this was originally posted:

• Michael Ford: There is a difference between being shut out and not getting the letter. They all were dealing with the QC on a daily basis. The resort we get will be self explanatory when it all comes out. I’m sure of it.
• Jeremy Cardenas: Honestly, the best thing for everyone is if we all just chilled out and waited for actual news instead of passing around all these articles. Just wait a couple days for the “real” news to go out.
• Michael Watts:  Shocking. Not.
  Just waiting for the lawsuits to start flying from all directions.

Found some more gems to share:

In several of the posts last year on the Citizens for a Better Pope County page, it was stated that the ordinance would require that

…the specific casino application would be put to a county-wide vote which would determine whether or not the permit would be issued.

That’s not what the passed ordinance requires…, or maybe it does, depending on how you read it.

Originally posted to Facebook on August 11, 2019 at 8:33 PM.

The following was shared in a comment:

The location for the proposed Cherokee Nation casino development is in Russellville on approximately 135 acres off of highway 40 along Hob Nob Road, between Weir Road on the west and Alaskan Trail on the east, according to the release (by CNB).

(This was my first attempt at sharing online where I thought the site might be. 03-13-20 MpG)

Rival says tribe’s business to get backing to build casino in state

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 10, 2019, by Jeannie Roberts

• In a letter to Ben Cross, county judge of Pope County, obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and dated Saturday, Warner Gaming CEO Bill Warner said they were told that the endorsement would go to the Cherokee Nation Businesses of Catoosa, Okla.
• In the direct letter to Cross, Warner tells the county judge “Since you informed us on Friday that the Quorum Court has already decided to support the Cherokee proposal and no others, we do not feel that it makes sense for us to submit an updated proposal at this time.”

Groups Preparing to ‘roll the Dice’ Again with Pope County Casino Efforts (UPDATED).

Talk Business & Politics. August 10, 2019.  by Roby Brock

• • A series of Russellville Courier newspaper ads and an interstate billboard campaign began four days ago with a countdown indicating “Your time is coming to be legendary. Project details revealed 8.12.19.
  • ”One ad suggests a hotel complex and another a concert venue, and the reference to “legendary” is tied to the hospitality company Legends, which is partnering with Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) to gain the sole license to build a casino complex in Russellville.
  • With project details to be revealed on Monday, Talk Business & Politics has learned from multiple sources that county officials are asking for “best and final” proposals from the five different casino groups wanting to locate in Pope County by noon on Monday, Aug. 12. On Tuesday, Aug. 13, the Pope County Quorum Court will hold a specially-called meeting with agenda items that only include:
    • Discussion of Arkansas Constitutional Amendment 100 & Ordinance No. 2018-O-42;
    • Review of Economic Development Agreement; and
    • Resolution Regarding Arkansas Constitutional Amendment 100

These two videos were developed, published and posted prior to the August 13th quorum court meeting.

Write the Letter:

“Pack the House”

A top White House official on Monday (Aug. 5) said that policymakers in Little Rock and across Arkansas already have a “green light” to seek private investment for distressed, low-income areas across the state to take advantage of so-called federal Opportunity Zones (OZs) approved by Congress in late 2017. (Talk Business & Politics, August 5th)

The Pope County OZ is in pink(ish) in the image above.

This is totally new information for me. It seems that this might enhance the ripple effect from the new casino resort.