The Arkansas Racing Commission recently delayed consideration of
Gulfside Casino Partnership’s appeal about its application for a multimillion dollar casino license in Pope County. Commissioner Alex Lieblong said commissioners need more time to review Gulfside’s information and then prepare a report. He added a special meeting probably would be held in August.
Gulfside attorney Casey Castleberry said he was surprised the decision was not made but was “very pleased” a special meeting will be held to review the application and Gulfside’s claims. “Hopefully they’ll make a decision soon and hopefully it’s favorable,” Castleberry said.
The commission earlier rejected Gulfside’s and four other casino operators’ applications for the Pope County casino license because none had letters of support from current government officials. A commission rule passed earlier this year stated endorsements can come only from officials holding office when the application is submitted.
Gulfside’s application included letters from Jim Ed Gibson, then county judge of Pope County, and Randy Horton, then mayor of Russellville. Their letters were issued just before the two left office at the end of December.
Castleberry said the endorsements are valid under Amendment 100, which does not specify when the letters must be obtained. He said, “By adopting this rule, the commission excluded the only qualified applicant. So by adopting this rule, you ensured that during this application period, there would not be a qualified applicant.”
Castleberry noted the Racing Commission rule also contradicted earlier rules, passed unanimously by the commission in late December, stating letters of support and resolutions by the Quorum Court only were required to be dated after the effective date of Amendment 100, November 14.
Voters passed Amendment 100 last November, allowing one casino each in Pope and Jefferson counties and full gambling at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs and Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis. However, Pope County voters overwhelmingly rejected it and also passed an ordinance requiring a special election before county officials can support a casino applicant.
Current Russellville Mayor Richard Harris told the commission the Gulfside endorsement letters from previous officials were invalid. In fact, he said Gibson’s letter was “an embarrassment to read.” Harris said, “If I were asked to write a letter endorsing a casino in my community, that would generate an impact on the community, I think I would put a little more thought into it than write such a vague, nebulous letter that, in my opinion, is not necessarily worth being considered a true letter of support.”
At the meeting, Kelly Jett, founder of the 6,000-member pro-casino group Pope County Majority, said many Pope County residents who voted against the casino in November have joined her group, which is promoting a casino resort to boost the economy and infrastructure.
Jett said, “We’re going to grow economically, we’re going to develop, we’re going to have better infrastructure, better schools. And we hope that the Racing Commission supports us, and eventually our judge and Quorum Court will support us as well and help us bring a great resort casino to our county and that we can partner with them and Pope County will prosper more than it ever has.”
Meanwhile, Warner Gaming Chief Executive Officer Bill Warner recently presented the public an update on the benefits a Hard Rock casino resort in Pope County. He said, “When you look at brand it matters in the way that people buy things. Brands matter in the way people visit properties. In entertainment and resort environment the Hard Rock stands as tall as any.”
Warner added, “I think the Pope County leaders want to create a process where they can select the casino operator in the event they get public support. We hope we get a fair shot at pitching our story.”
