The Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for its $350 million Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on Monday, August 5.
The 20,000-square-foot casino and convenience store, the Saracen Annex Q-Store, will open across the street at the same time. Slated for completion in spring 2020, the Saracen Casino will be the Quapaw Nation’s third; the tribe also owns and operates Downstream Casino Resort near the Oklahoma/Missouri line and Quapaw Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.
John L. Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw Nation and Downstream Development Authority and Saracen Casino Development, said, “This reminds me of how excited and proud we were 12 years ago breaking ground for Downstream, and what that meant for Joplin, Missouri and the surrounding region.
“Saracen Casino will be a lot like Downstream in terms of style, design and luxury, and in what we think it will do for Pine Bluff. But also, building Saracen Casino is a homecoming for the Quapaw people. That’s where we lived. It is where the great Chief Saracen is buried. So this is a very special for us.”
The Quapaw tribe lived in eastern and southern Arkansas before they were forced to relocate to Oklahoma in the 1830s. The new Arkansas casino is named after Chief Saracen, who died at age 97 in 1832.
Berrey said the Saracen Casino will create 1,000 construction jobs and 1,100 permanent jobs. Located on 110 acres, the 570,000-square-foot venue will offer more than 2,000 slot machines and 50 table games on the 80,000-square-foot gaming floor. The Saracen Annex Q-Store will offer an additional 300 machines.
The hotel will feature 300 rooms, a conference center, entertainment venue, spa, restaurants and lounges, plus a museum and cultural center. Also on the grounds will be a health clinic, safety and fire services and child care center.
