Arkansas Casino Referendum Raises $2.8M to Repeal Pope County Gaming License

Posted on: July 17, 2024, 08:56h. 

Last updated on: July 17, 2024, 10:27h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The Arkansas casino referendum campaign seeking to repeal the gaming license recently issued for a project in Pope County’s Russellville reported raising $2.8 million last month.

Arkansas casino Pope County Legends
The fight over a possible commercial casino in Arkansas’ Russellville is expected to culminate with the 2024 election. Officials with a campaign seeking to repeal the Pope County casino license believe they have enough signatures needed to place the referendum question before voters. (Image: Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce)

Local Voters in Charge is a political committee working to place a question before Arkansas voters in November asking them to amend the state’s 2018 casino law that designated four counties — Crittenden, Garland, Jefferson, and Pope — for commercial casinos.

Local Voters in Charge is recommending changing the gaming statute to require that any proposed casino first undergo a local referendum where simple majority support from county voters would be needed for the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) to grant a gaming concession.

According to newly disclosed campaign finance reports from Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston’s office, Local Voters in Charge raised $2.8 million last month, with the money coming from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The committee reported spending $1.7 million on canvassing state voters for their signatures.

Choctaw Protecting Home Turf

Earlier this month, ARC issued Cherokee Nation Entertainment, a subsidiary of Cherokee Nation Businesses, the commercial arm of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, the lone casino license for Pope County. The Cherokees have proposed a $300 million destination in Russellville called Legends Resort & Casino.

ARC deemed Legends to be the only qualified bid because it was accompanied by a support letter from Pope County Judge Ben Cross and a resolution of support from the Pope County Quorum Court. The other submitted bid didn’t have such judicial endorsements. A legal challenge of whether Gulfside Casino Partnership’s bid called River Valley Casino Resort should have been considered is ongoing.

The Choctaw Nation fueling the Local Voters in Charge referendum campaign isn’t surprising, as the tribe seeks to protect its economic interests in Oklahoma. The Choctaws own and operate several tribal casinos in eastern Oklahoma, including Choctaw Casino & Resort Pocola, which sits on the Oklahoma-Arkansas border. The Pocola resort is roughly 70 air miles from Russellville.

The Cherokees are funding their own campaign — Investing in Arkansas — to counter Local Voters in Charge.

Don’t be fooled by this out-of-state ploy to repeal the casino measure,” said Natalie Ghidotti, vice chair of Investing in Arkansas. “This group claims its effort is about local choice, but in reality, their proposal would completely eliminate the casino license in Pope County, going against the will of Arkansas voters. This attempt to repeal the Pope County casino license is being driven by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, which controls a competing casino just across the state line near Fort Smith. Their mission is to keep Arkansas tourism and tax dollars flowing across state lines and into their pockets.”

The Choctaws refute that charge and say they’re simply helping Pope County fend off a commercial casino that the majority of its residents don’t want. During the 2018 statewide referendum, Pope County was one of only 11 counties among the 75 in Arkansas that voted against the casino measure.

Validation Ongoing?

Local Voters in Charge submitted more than 162K signatures to Thurston’s office. The state secretary’s staff is now undergoing to tedious process of validating the signatures, which involves comparing the canvassed signature with the voter’s signature on record.

If Thurston validates a minimum of 90,705 registered voter signatures, with representation from at least 50 counties, the casino question will reach the November ballot.

If a simple majority backs the question, ARC would need to rescind the Pope gaming license allocated to Cherokee Nation Entertainment until a local referendum in the county regarding the casino is held.