When Pope County Judge Ben Cross first saw Cherokee Nation Businesses’ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa 20 years ago, it rose out of the countryside like a lone apparition.
“You drove out of town through cow pastures, and then, boom, it just appeared on the prairie” east of Tulsa, said Cross, who backs CNB’s plan to build a new casino in Russellville.
“I was out there last year, and a whole city has grown up around it. There’s a Walmart supercenter, there’s big, nice restaurants and it’s all sitting on CNB property.”
Cross has a similar vision for Pope County, where CNB has plans for a $320 million Legends Resort & Casino with 50,000 SF of gaming space and 200 guest rooms.
Cross feels sure it will arrive, but it’s been a long time coming. It’s also legally uncertain.
The Arkansas Supreme Court has voided gaming licenses for two different casino businesses in Pope County, and more than five years have passed since Amendment 100 to the Arkansas Constitution legalized casino gambling in the state in November 2018.
During that time, new casino facilities have gone up at Southland in West Memphis and Oaklawn in Hot Springs, and the Quapaw Nation built a dazzling new gambling hall in Pine Bluff (see story on Page 1). Tens of thousands of players have wagered billions of dollars, while the only game in Russellville was waiting and watching the courts.
But Cross says CNB will regain its gaming license when the Arkansas Racing Commission opens a new application period this year, and he likes CNB’s business plan.
He also notes that CNB has substantial skin in the game.
It has bought 350 acres along Interstate 40 for a hotel, casino and related developments and has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to local nonprofits, Cross said.
CNB also has a constitutional requirement now unobtained by its main license rival, Gulfside Casino Partnership of Mississippi: a letter of support from the county judge and a resolution of support from a divided Pope County Quorum Court.
“I still insist there’s only going to be one valid applicant” in the new licensing period required by the Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate CNB’s license last year, Cross said. “I don’t see any mathematical equation that gives us any other applicants than CNB. I don’t see a mathematical way that any other potential vendor could get a resolution from the Quorum Court, unless some minds change. And that’s not happened in five years. I certainly don’t want to entertain any other letters of support for another vendor myself.”
Gulfside Still in Running
Gulfside’s attorney, Casey Castleberry of Little Rock, told Arkansas Business that the company still hopes to persuade Pope County officials to support its project. The Racing Commission granted Gulfside the Pope County license in 2020 after its presentation and one by Cherokee Nation Businesses, but the Arkansas Supreme Court voided that license, leading to the application round that led to CNB’s license, now also voided.
An Arkansas Supreme Court decision last month denying a rehearing of CNB’s licensing dismissal cleared the way for a new application period. To decrease the likelihood of more litigation, the office of Attorney General Tim Griffin suggested removing some language from the Racing Commission’s rules and recommended a new scoring matrix for judging vendor applicants. The commission adopted the AG’s recommended rules on Jan. 30.
“We appreciate the Arkansas Racing Commission’s diligent ef-forts to approve new rules that will guide its consideration of Pope County casino license applications,” Castleberry said in a statement. “The approved rules will now proceed through the promulgation process required before agency rules go into effect. While that process runs its course, we look forward to demonstrating soon to the Pope County Quorum Court why Gulfside is worthy of the county’s support.”
It could take 60 to 120 days for the rules to be revised, approved and take effect. A 30-day application period would come next, then scoring. Racing Commissioner Mark Lamberth said officials are “basically wiping the slate clean.”
“The forces representing other vendors have indicated the next line of litigation would be to attack the casino gaming rules themselves,” Cross said. The recommendations from the AG’s office “would clean up the language of the rules, and I think they’re wanting to lawyer-proof this situation.”
One suggestion would strike language allowing commissioners to reopen an application period for good cause, which Cross described as a point of interpretation. The rule change “will help define that black or white. And that’s a good thing.”
Tax Boon in 3 Counties
A casino would be a tax boon to Pope County and Russellville, Cross said. The state imposes a tax on casino gaming receipts and turns back 27.5% of it to the city (19.5%) and county (8%) in which the casino is located. Crittenden County and West Memphis shared more than $15 million last year; Jefferson County and Pine Bluff about $7 million; and Garland County and Hot Springs about $6.5 million. (For total taxes paid, see table below.)
“That’s not including other factors you’d throw into the equation like increased sales tax proceeds,” Cross said. “I would expect Pope County to fall in behind Crittenden but ahead of Garland and Jefferson. I’m going to say we’ll be in the $8 million to $10 million range” to be split between Pope County and Russellville.
CNB’s land is outside Russellville’s city limits, but Cross said it will be annexed soon. “There’s a voluntary annexation already drafted, so it will be a Russellville and Pope County split from the beginning.”
The Pope County Quorum Court voted 7-6 in December to support the Cherokee bid, but the resolution wasn’t explicit about exclusivity.
The Supreme Court opened the door to that vote when it voided CNB’s gaming license last year, finding that the Racing Commission had erred in granting the license to two entities, CNB Entertainment and Legends Resort & Casino LLC. Amendment 100 requires vendors to have experience running casinos, which CNB has aplenty at three sites in Oklahoma and, more recently, in Tunica, Mississippi. But the Legends LLC, a CNB subsidiary, had no gaming experience of its own, the justices found.
Legal Back and Forth
It was the second time the justices found fault with the Racing Commission’s licensing process for Pope County. In October 2021, the court voided the license granted to Gulfside Casino Partnership, ruling that Gulfside’s application ran afoul of a constitutional state law requiring vendors to have letters of support from local officials still in office at the time of the license applications. Gulfside’s letter of support was from former Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson, who signed it days before his term ended Dec. 31, 2018.
Gulfside had publicized plans to build a $254 million destination with a 500-room hotel and 50,000 SF of gaming space.
Cherokee Nation Businesses projects that a resort and casino will bring thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic impact to the Arkansas River Valley.
“You know, the general public is exhausted by this process. They’re ready for it to be over,” Cross said. “From my standpoint, Cherokee Nation Businesses have boots on the ground. They have a longtime office here. And CNB is the only one with a growth strategy for economic development that lies beyond the scope of what they do. That’s why they bought up so much land.”
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