Last November, Arkansas voters approved Amendment 100 allowing full-fledged casinos at the Hot Springs and West Memphis racetracks. It also allowed one casino each in Jefferson and Pope counties. The Quapaw Indian Tribe of Oklahoma is moving forward with the Jefferson County casino. But voters in Pope County voted against the amendment while approving an ordinance requiring a special election before county officials could grant a casino license. The earliest the Quorum Court could call for an election would be March 3, 2020. But so far no member of the Quorum Court has introduced a proposal for a special election.
Pope County Justice of the Peace Ray Black said, “The biggest thing we’re doing is trying to find out what the majority of Pope County wants to do when it comes to this subject. And we’re not any closer to that answer than when we started. A month ago, the only people we were hearing from were people opposing the casino. It really looked like a one-sided issue. Now we’re receiving multiple, multiple emails and letters from people wanting the casino here in Pope County.”
Black said attitudes began to change when the five casino applicants started telling residents about their multimillion-dollar resorts complete with hotel towers, convention centers, water parks and high-end restaurants. “When we had the vote in November, I truly believed we were going to have a gas station with slot machines in it. I think everybody thought that. We never dreamed there was going to be a 5-star resort in Pope County,” he said.
Justice of the Peace Ernie Enchelmayer said based on the dozens of emails he receives each day, voters didn’t know what they were voting against. “Then we get these architectural renderings from all these casino people wanting to move to Pope County. That’s not what really we had in mind back then. It’s a different animal now,” he said.
The five applicants are Gulfside Casino Partnership of Gulfport, Mississippi; Warner Gaming of Las Vegas; Choctaw Nation of Durant, Oklahoma; Cherokee Nation Businesses of Catoosa, Oklahoma; and Kehl Management of Dubuque, Iowa. The Arkansas Racing Commission rejected all five last month because none of the applications included letters of support from current local officials.
In December, two Pope County officials issued letters of support for Gulfside, just before they left office. The Racing Commission later ruled that endorsement letters must come from sitting officials when the applications are submitted. The legislature also approved Act 371, requiring the letters of support come from current officeholders. Gulfside has appealed the denial.
Meanwhile, the five applicants have been holding open houses at area hotels, giving away branded swag, attending public meetings, speaking at local organizations and staying in daily contact with the county judge and Quorum Court members.
Kelly Jett, leader of the grass-roots pro-casino group Pope County Majority said, “There has been a great deal of presence in the community when it comes to resort representatives. I think that all of them have made great efforts to show Pope County they are serious about building a relationship with them, some more than others obviously. However, we must take into account that our county judge and Quorum Court members have access to information contained in the proposal that we do not. And with that being said, we must trust that they will choose the best fit for Pope County, and I still believe that will happen.”
Justice of the Peace Tim Whittenburg said he receives “a ton of emails every day” from people on both sides of the casino issue. “To be honest, I don’t know what is going to happen from this point. I’m new at this. I think probably the only fair way to decide is to put it back out to a vote.”
