Today, March 29, 2020, I’ve sent the open letter below to the Arkansas Racing Commission as an email asking them to accept the application submitted by Cherokee Nation Businesses LLC “for good cause shown,” as allowed in the Casino Gaming Rules of Arkansas. The Racing Commission has been ordered to consider the application from Gulfside Casino Partnership. Gulfside was the late 2018 choice of two people in Pope County, the lame-duck county judge, Jim Ed Gibson, and the lame-duck mayor of Russellville, Randy Horton. Today, the overwhelming choice of Pope County residents favoring a casino would be Cherokee Nation Businesses/Legends.
I sent the open letter email to:
racing@dfa.arkansas.gov,
Nikki Langston <nikki.langston@dfa.arkansas.gov>,
bfreeland@mwlaw.com,
Smokey.Campbell@dfa.arkansas.gov
The “open letter:”
For Good Cause—Please Let Pope County Choose!
Dear Chairman Lieblong and Commissioners Lamberth, Rice, East, Post, Hunter, and Landers,
The fundamental idea for having officials from the county and/or city provide support documents for any applicants for a casino license was to provide some measure of local choice for the people of Pope and Jefferson Counties.
If Gulfside Casino Partnership is awarded the casino license, Pope County will have lost any choice they had in the selection of a casino operator.
I believe it is imperative that the Racing Commission accept FOR GOOD CAUSE the casino application of Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC/Legends Resort and Casino Arkansas LLC.
Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) is the preferred choice of most people in Pope County who are in favor of a casino being built here. Gulfside Casino Partnership is NOT.
Please consider the following FOR GOOD CAUSE:
- On December 21, 2018, lame-duck Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson penned a one-line letter that has been interpreted as being a letter of support for Gulfside Casino Partnership, though he stated otherwise in an interview:
- In a December 31, 2018 article by River Valley Now, Jim Ed Gibson was asked, “I think that’s why there was some debate about it, because people have said, well he’s saying “if”, so it’s not the letter that’s needed. So, I just wanted to get your perspective on what the intent was. So, it wasn’t necessarily meant as THE letter of support?“Gibson replied, “No, it wasn’t.“
- Because the casino gaming rules and state law required a letter or resolution from current officials, Judge Ben Cross and the Pope County Quorum Court had no motivation to provide support documents for a more favored applicant, since, by a plain reading of those rules and law, the letter from Judge Gibson was invalid.
- Had the casino gaming rules and state law not required a letter or resolution from current officials, the Pope County officials would have had more urgency to take the opportunity to provide support documents for a more favored applicant, which probably would have been CNB.
- With the Racing Commission’s constitutional mandate to award a Pope County casino license unfulfilled, there was “good cause shown” when the Commission was presented in August 2019 with a valid resolution of support by the Pope County Quorum Court for Cherokee Nations Businesses (CNB). The Commission’s subsequent acceptance of CNB’s application was legal per Rule 2.13.4(b):
- “Applications for a casino license will be accepted by the Commission for a period of thirty (30) days, beginning on the date established by the Commission and published as a legal notice by the Commission. No application will be accepted after the thirty (30) day period, except for good cause shown.”
- On August 15, Scott Richardson, attorney for Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) and Legends Resort & Casino, in a letter that accompanied their August license application, made a good case for accepting that application for good cause shown, writing:
- In order to comply with Rule 2.13.4(b), and to avoid any confusion in the future, CNB requests that the Racing Commission officially accept CNB’s application “for good cause shown.” We respectfully suggest that good cause is demonstrated by the fact that in the initial thirty-day window no applications were submitted with a letter or resolution of support from the Pope County Judge or Quorum Court holding office at the time of the application as required by Amendment 100, Ark. Code Ann. § 23-117-101, and Arkansas Racing Commission Rule 2.13.5.(b). This application now comes to you with that resolution.
- Cherokee Nation Businesses is proving to be a good community partner. They have demonstrated that they want to be here. Before a license is issued and ground broken for the casino, CNB’s Legends Resort and Casino Arkansas has shown they are a good fit. Without fan fanfare, they are stepping up, participating in food drives, the county fair, the state fair, Russelville Fall Festival, and numerous other events and programs.
- Though they feel they are “entitled to a license to operate a casino in Pope County,” Gulfside has done nothing to show that it would add anything to the community. All Gulfside ever demonstrated was that they want a casino. My understanding is that days before Pope County Quorum Court passed the Resolution of Support, Gulfside offered to essentially match the funding dollars offered by CNB for a letter of support and stated that, if they didn’t get the letter of support, they would tie the license up in court for an extended period of time.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter. The people of Pope County did not ask to be placed in this situation. It is important that we are considered in the resolution of which casino operator gets the license.
Michael Goad
Pope County, Arkansas