The $350 million Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, Arkansas opened to the public on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, following an earlier sneak preview for 300 select guests. The 80,000-square-foot venue offers 2,300 slots, 35 table games, plus seven restaurants, a sports lounge and bar and VIP lounge. Owned and operated by the Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma, the casino originally was scheduled to open in early summer, but problems in the supply chain for construction materials delayed that. The groundbreaking took place in August 2019.
Guests at the preview included Governor Asa Hutchinson, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson, Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington and state Rep. Vivian Flowers. Quapaw Nation Chairman Joseph Tali Byrd and 2019-2020 Tribal Princess Kristal Glass also were in attendance. Robinson said, “You’re going to start seeing things evolve around Pine Bluff. We’re building three new buildings, the new health department, a new veterans service building and were also building a new coroner’s office and that’s going to be possible because of these revenues that we’re receiving from the casino.”
Jefferson County will receive 8 percent of the gaming revenue and the city of Pine Bluff will receive 19.5 percent of the revenue. Washington stated, “I think this money is going to help us give those increases to our first responders that we’ve been looking to for so many years so we can have that level of retention that we need.” She added the city will attract new businesses as the tax base increases due to the new casino. “We’re not bringing in a lot of industry so we must make Pine Bluff that destination city.”
Regarding health and safety requirements due to Covid-19, General Manager Matt Harkness said the facility can hold 10,000 guests but is limited to 6,000. All guests’ temperatures are taken at the door. “All the employees will be wearing masks, we will enforce that guests wear masks as well, we will be social distancing at the tables as well as the restaurants.” He pointed out barriers between slots will assure social distancing.
Hutchinson said, “It’s nice to have something that is entertainment, fun, but safe at the same time. The Department of Health has looked over the guidelines for operation and as long as those are complied with, we are reducing the risk but anytime you get out in an environment where there are people you are exposing yourself.” Hutchinson added people have to make their own decisions about going to a casino amid a pandemic. “Obviously if you are a vulnerable age group you need to think carefully about it and you need to look at what are the safety revision in place,” he said.
Some notable distinctions about the Saracen include chefs from the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and the Ritz Carlton in Vail, Colorado. A gelato machine was imported from Italy. Honey used for the beer brewed on-site is locally sourced. Meat is from cattle and bison from a Quapaw herd in Oklahoma. And coffee beans are imported from 22 countries.
The carpet, made in the United Kingdom, features an abstract motif replicating an aerial view of the Arkansas Delta. On one wall is a 48-foot by 10-foot mural by area landscape artist Henri Linton, a “six figure investment,” according to staff members.
Byrd said plans for an adjoining hotel, convention center and event space have been put on hold due to Covid-19. “We are keeping our fingers crossed there is some relief to this pandemic. We are going to have to play it by ear and see what our earnings entail. If we have the confidence of investors moving forward, then we will get our local vendors and contractors to make that happen. It is just about timing. We have no doubt this casino project will knock their socks off,” Byrd said.
The Saracen Casino Annex, a 300-slot venue opened in September 2019 across the street from the main casino will remain open, officials said. It employs 700 people and has generated nearly $5 million in tax revenue for the state and $38 million gross profit from $531 million in wagers.
Meanwhile, over in Pope County, attorneys for Cherokee Nation Businesses recently sued Gulfside Casino Partnership, which won the county’s casino license, and the Arkansas Racing Commission. CNB asked the court to stop Gulfside from opening a 33,400-square-foot casino annex near Russellville while its 80,000-square foot casino and 500-room hotel are under construction. County Judge Ben Cross, who supported the CNB proposal, also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. The annex would offer 500 slot machines, eight table games and a restaurant.
Attorneys for CNB allege, “Gulfside is now in the process of unlawfully constructing and operating a temporary annex casino in Pope County, Arkansas that wholly conflicts with its application, its representations to the Arkansas Racing Commission, its casino gaming license and the casino gaming rules.”
Gulfside attorney Casey Castleberry pointed out the Quapaw Nation opened a similar casino annex last year adjacent to its planned Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff. He said, “This is an issue for the Arkansas Racing Commission, not the courts. Like Saracen in Pine Bluff, Gulfside’s River Valley Annex would provide nearly 300 jobs and millions in revenue for the city of Russellville during the construction of our first-class resort. This lawsuit has no merit and would only serve to stifle future economic growth.”
Racing commission spokesman Scott Hardin said the Saracen casino plans included an annex in the original application, which commissioners approved. However, Gulfside did not include an annex in its application and will need the commission’s approval to build and operate it. Hardin said the commission had not received an application for the annex and no date had been set to consider that. “There is nothing prohibiting Gulfside from proceeding with the casino it included in its application although we always anticipated the company that was licensed would hold construction until litigation is complete,” Hardin said.
CNB Chief Executive Officer Chuck Garrett stated, “Pope County deserves a responsible operator that has a stellar track record of keeping promises made to communities, employees and local vendors. While there are many legal proceedings left in this process, our commitment to Pope County and securing the casino license has never been greater.”
The case will be heard in Pope County by 5th Judicial Circuit Judge Dennis Sutterfield.
