The Quorum Court in Pope County, Arkansas recently voted 7-6 in favor of Cherokee Nation Business’ (CNB) proposed $300 million Legends Resort & Casino in Russellville. The action seemingly shuts out Mississippi-based Gulfside Casino Partnership’s bid for the $254 million River Valley Casino Resort.
The debate over Pope County casino developers began in 2018 when Arkansas voters approved a ballot referendum for five commercial land-based casinos.
Following an issue over letters of support from the county’s sitting judge or Quorum Court, the Arkansas Racing Commission granted the license to Gulfside. The Cherokees appealed the decision and the case went to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which sided with Gulfside. The Arkansas Gaming Commission then reversed its decision to favor the CNB proposal.
The legal back-and-forth didn’t end there. The gaming commission is expected to reopen the application period for the Pope County casino. However, the position of the county Quorum Court puts CNB ahead in the competition.
Chuck Garrett, chief financial officer at Cherokee Nation, said, “We are very gratified by the court’s confidence in us and I think we’ve earned that over the last five years, we’ve been here day in and day out. We have our application ready. We have 350 acres of land purchased here in Pope County. We have gone through the planning commission. We have all the pieces in place.”
Meanwhile, Gulfside officials said they also plan to seek support from the Quorum Court for its application.
