So, I was asked a question this morning, “Why has the casino not been built?” This was my response.
Why the casino has not been built.
Cherokee Nation Business (CNB) never planned to build Legends Resort and Casino, Arkansas, until the Pope County casino license was unencumbered by litigation.
No one currently holds a license to operate a casino in Pope County, and here’s why:
Gulfside received letters of support from Judge Jim Ed Gibson and Mayor Randy Horton in late December 2018 before the rules applying to casino applications were developed and implemented.
The Arkansas Casino Gaming Rules, which went into effect March 14, 2019, and a state law enacted on March 8, required local support documents from local officials in office when the applications were submitted.
None of the five applications submitted during the May 2019 application period had valid support documents from local officials.
All five applications, including CNB’s and Gulfside’s, were denied because they didn’t have the required local support documents.
Gulfside appealed that decision with the racing commission on June 28.
On August 13, 2019, the Pope County quorum court passed a resolution of support for CNB in a meeting that packed the courthouse. Many other supporters and I were there.
On August 15, the racing commission denied Gulfside’s appeal, received CNB’s resolution of support from the Pope County quorum court, and determined that a new application period would be opened. Gulfside filed an administrative appeal in Pulaski County Circuit Court.
On March 24, 2020, Judge Tim Fox ordered that the casino gaming rule and state law requiring local support letters from current officials when the application is submitted were unconstitutional.
At the advice of the counsel from the AG’s office, the racing commission decided not to appeal.
CNB could not appeal because Fox had denied their motion to “intervene” in the case. CNB had appealed that motion denial to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
After numerous meetings related to selecting between CNB and Gulfside, on July 31, the Arkansas Racing Commission issued the Pope County license to Gulfside.
The Arkansas Supreme Court, on February 4, 2021, issued a “remand and reversal’ decision of Tim Fox’s denial of CNB’s motion to intervene. This effectively reset the court case to January 2020, reversing Fox’s March 24 orders.
On March 9, 2021, Gulfside Casino Partnership filed a judicial appeal for review of an Arkansas Racing Commission finding that Legends demonstrated experience conducting casino gaming, claiming “Gulfside was injured by the Racing Commission’s decision, as Legends seeks to take away Gulfside’s casino gaming license, even though Legends fails to meet a minimum requirement imposed by Amendment 100.”
At this point, Gulfside had two cases against the Racing Commission related to the Pope County casino license. Tim Fox was the judge in both cases.
On May 21, 2021, Fox again issued orders stipulating that the casino gaming rule and state law requiring local support letters from current officials when the application is submitted were unconstitutional.
CNB, now an intervener in the case, filed a notice to appeal the decision on May 24, 2021, and the Racing Commission filed its appeal notice on June 17.
The Supreme Court of Arkansas reversed and dismissed Judge Fox’s ruling on October 21, 2021.
This meant that Jim Ed Gibson’s letter of support did not meet the gaming rules and state law requirements, and Gulfside’s license to operate a casino in Pope County was revoked.
On November 12, 2021, the Arkansas Racing Commission issued a license to conduct casino gaming in Pope County to Cherokee Nation Businesses and Legends Resort and Casino.
However, Gulfside’s March 9, 2021, lawsuit was still open.
Judge Tim Fox pigeon-holed the case for whatever reason. Circuit court judges are supposed to file reports that include explanations for cases on their dockets for extended periods. Apparently, Fox did not do this.
Late in 2022, at least one judicial ethics complaint was filed against Fox for failing to move the case forward.
On November 21, 2022, Fox scheduled a hearing for January 3, 2023.
On January 12, 2023, after hearings on January 3 and 4, Judge Fox issued findings and orders on the multiple motions and countermotions, one of which was one year, nine months, and three days old: Gulfside’s March 1, 2022, motion for summary judgment.
Fox found that Legends had no prior “experience conducting casino gaming.” He also found that ARC’s decision to jointly award the Pope County casino license to Legends and CNB violated Amendment 100, which requires a single casino license applicant. Fox’s orders declared that the CNB and Legends license were voided.
CNB and the Racing Commission appealed, with briefs filed to the Supreme Court in just a few weeks rather than months.
A recusal by the chief justice and the death of another justice, weeks apart, required the governor to appoint substitutes and pushed the case to the court’s fall session.
On October 26, 2023, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld Fox’s ruling.
In January 2024, a motion for reconsideration from CNB and Legends was denied.
No one currently holds a license to operate a casino in Pope County.
Judge Ben Cross has written a letter of support for Cherokee Nation Entertainment (CNE), and the Pope County Quorum Court approved a resolution supporting CNE.
CNE, headed by Mark Fulton as its president, is the entertainment arm of Cherokee Nation Businesses and operates ten casinos in Oklahoma and one in Mississippi.
NO other casino entity will receive a letter of support or resolution of support from Pope County.
https://tinyurl.com/yvkwswm7 (work in progress)