In the latest twist in the Pope County, Arkansas casino saga, Biloxi-based Gulfside Casino Partnership, operators of the Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport, was awarded the license again when the Arkansas Racing Commission voted 3-2 in its favor.
The vote came after the consultant hired by the commission, Jim Fox of Fox & Fox Consulting in Flagstaff, Arizona, said the Cherokee Nation’s proposal was the best choice for the state’s last remaining commercial casino license
Fox said the proposal from Legends Resort & Casino LLC, a subsidiary of Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB), deserved the license for several reasons: CNB’s experience running gambling operations at its 10 Oklahoma properties, plus its plans to build a $225 million casino in Pope County in less than two years with no outside financing.
In his report, Fox noted the CNB plan plus its commitment of $38.8 million for economic development through an agreement with Pope County, would bring the project’s total cost to $263.8 million; Gulfside’s original proposed investment was $150 million to $190 million.
However, Gulfside partners recently announced they would increase their investment to $254 million. They also noted their stated plans for the number of hotel rooms, gambling space, slot machines and table games is higher than the figures cited in Fox’s report.
Dustin McDaniel, an attorney for Cherokee Nation Businesses, said, “It is unfortunate that the commissioners didn’t have the benefit of access to this report prior to awarding scores to each applicant on June 18, but we will offer it as part of the record and hope that it is helpful when the commission meets next.”
McDaniel was referring to the commission’s June 18 meeting where both CNB and Gulfside gaming license applications were scored, with Gulfside beating CNB in a 637-572 vote. McDaniel then accused Commissioner Butch Rice of bias for giving Gulfside 71 more points than CNB. Rice denied any bias and said he gave Gulfside a higher score because its proposal includes a larger casino with greater potential tax revenue.
However, the other commissioners voted again last week and declared Rice was indeed biased in his scoring, and was prohibited from voting in this round. Also out was the vote of Chairman Alex Lieblong, who recused himself “to avoid any appearance of impropriety and remove any doubts as to the integrity of either myself or this process.”
“We appreciate the Racing Commission’s thoughtful decision and continued support and look forward to breaking ground on our first-class casino resort, which we believe will be an economic winner for Russellville, Pope County and Arkansas,” said Terry Green, co-owner of Gulfside Casino Partnership.
In 2018, voters approved casino licenses for Pope County and Jefferson County, where the Quapaw Nation’s Saracen Development LLC is building a casino in Pine Bluff. Also, full casino licenses were granted to the racetracks at Oaklawn in Hot Springs and Southland in West Memphis.
The gaming commission hired Fox last year for guidance on supervising the new casinos when they opened. His contract ended in June.
