Several new articles related to Pope County and its casino process were published in the media in the last couple of days. Links, with excerpts for each article are provided below.
While the initial casino application period was one month, the new application period, which started after a new Pope County application was prepared, is for ninety days. Hopefully, this period will be sufficient for opposition legal hurdles to be cleared, though, given the sometimes glacial pace of legal proceedings, that may be unlikely.
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August 20, 2019. AR Sports Betting May Expand With Casino Backed By Jerry Jones. LegalSportsBetting.com. (Added August 21, 2019)
- Jerry Jones, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is one step closer to having his hospitality company build a casino in Pope County, Arkansas. It will be the first full-service casino in the state (not true) and would be able to host another Arkansas sportsbook.
- The project would take within 18 months to complete but a timeline for when it will begin construction has not been announced. With residents and competing businesses potentially opposing the project, it may be some time before legal sports betting makes its way to Pope County residents.
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August 20, 2019. Arkansas Gambling: Fresh Applications Will Be Accepted For Pope County Casino License. Casino Buzz. (Added August 21, 2019)
- The Arkansas Racing Commission has opened a new window for accepting fresh applications for awarding a casino license in Pope County.
- The new application window will be open for 90 days. The announcement has been made after a Mississippi-based company filed a lawsuit against the commission for denying its request to reconsider its application which was earlier denied by the gambling authority.
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August 20, 2019. Arkansas Casino Race Favors Cherokee Proposal Amid Rancor. Latest US Casino News & Legislation Updates. (Added August 21, 2019)
- On Tuesday night, the quorum court in Pope County, Arkansas passed a resolution and endorsed the Cherokee Nation Businesses’ proposed casino, Legends Resort and Casino, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock reported.
- The quorum court – which functions basically like a county commission in Arkansas – had a vote of 13 justices of the peace (the state’s equivalent of county commissioners) on the matter. Eight voted in support of the casino, four voted against it, and one abstained.
- Though the other four casinos were also hoping for an endorsement, as Little Rock ABC television affiliate KATV documented, Pope County Judge Ben Cross stated that Cherokee Nation Businesses were the most cooperative and willing to increase the infrastructure in the county.
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August 20, 2019. Arkansas Reopens Pope County Casino Bids on Heels of Lawsuit. Latest US Casino News & Legislation Updates. (Added August 21, 2019)
- The ongoing saga over the casino situation in Pope County, Arkansas, entered a new chapter on Monday after one of the rejected applicants mounted a legal challenge against the Arkansas Racing Commission.
- The Democrat-Gazette reported last week that Gulfside Casino Partnership filed a lawsuit on Aug. 15 in Pulaski County Circuit Court, following the Pope County Quorum Court’s decision to reject its application to open a casino. Pope County instead favored a proposal by Cherokee Nation Businesses.
- According to documents obtained by Little Rock ABC affiliate KATV, the Mississippi-based Gulfside Casino Partnership has also asked the court to grant an injunction to bar the commission from granting a license until the case has been resolved.
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August 20, 2019. Arkansas Racing Commission Opens New Window for Casino Applicants. Arkansas Online. (Added August 20, 2019)
- The Arkansas Racing Commission on Monday opened a 90-day window for accepting fresh applications for a casino license in Pope County.
- Meanwhile, a circuit judge approved the Pope County prosecutor’s request to have a special prosecutor handle a complaint filed against county officials alleging they violated the state Freedom of Information Act in the Quorum Court’s surprise endorsement last week of Cherokee Nation Businesses for the casino license.
- Pope County prosecutor Jeff Phillips said Monday that he has requested that a special prosecutor be assigned to review the case because it would be a conflict of interest for him to do so. Phillips was previously Pope County’s civil attorney before being elected to his current office. “I think on its face, there’s an appearance of impropriety for me to be sitting in judgment of a group that signed my paycheck,” Phillips said. “I can be fair and impartial, but it has the appearance of impropriety.” Fifth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Bill Pearson approved the request and sent it to the Office of the Prosecutor Coordinator in Little Rock to assign a new prosecutor.
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August 19, 2019. For Quapaws, Arkansas Casino Bid Goes Smoothly. Arkansas Online. (Added August 20, 2019)
- Unlike in Pope County, the road to a new casino in Pine Bluff has been a relatively smooth journey, with only one gaming entity vying for Jefferson County’s attention.
- In Pope County, five gaming entities — at least two of which have offered multimillion-dollar enticements — have competed for the coveted license, which still has yet to be awarded. Lawsuits have been filed over the endorsement issue.
- August 19, 2019. Racing Commission Reopens Applications for Pope County Casino.” Arkansas Times. (Added August 19, 2019)
- In keeping with its decision last week, the Arkansas Racing Commission today officially reopened applications to operate a casino in Pope County.
- At least two lawsuits complicate the issue. One is by a Mississippi casino operator contending its letters of approval in 2018 by the then-Pope County judge and Russellville mayor make it a legitimate applicant. Another is a lawsuit seeking to force a local referendum required by a 2018 county ordinance before the Quorum Court may adopt a resolution in support of a casino. The Mississippi operators have a request for an injunction to stop the Racing Commission from moving forward. The lawsuit is before Circuit Judge Tim Fox.
- The suit seeking to enforce the county ordinance is before Pulaski Circuit Judge Mary McGowan. It’s a refiled version of a suit originally filed in Pope County before the Quorum Court actually approved a resolution in support of the Cherokees without mentioning the voter ordinance. The new suit was filed Friday. It names the Racing Commission as defendant and seeks a declaratory judgment that Quorum Court approval of a pro-Cherokee resolution is void because of failure to follow required local ordinance.