{"id":93822,"date":"2018-12-04T07:16:14","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T15:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=93822"},"modified":"2018-12-04T07:16:14","modified_gmt":"2018-12-04T15:16:14","slug":"oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Tribe Selected to Develop Arkansas Casino in Jefferson County"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma and its Downstream Development Company has been selected by local officials in Arkansas to build and operate a casino in Jefferson County.<\/p>\n

\"Oklahoma
Quapaw Tribal Chairman John Berry says he hopes to have his Oklahoma tribe “digging dirt” on its Arkansas casino by June, and is targeting a 2020 opening. (Image: Quapaw Tribe)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In letters expressing their support, Jefferson County Judge Booker Clemons and Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington (D) said the tribe has shown a deep commitment to investing in the region. The Quapaw people have historical ties to Arkansas, and are looking to strengthen their economic sovereignty by expanding its gaming operations into the neighboring state.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been impressed by the professionalism and loyalty to our community that I’ve seen from Downstream and the Quapaw Nation,” Mayor Washington wrote. “It’s clear that Downstream wants to be a key partner in the growth and development of our city.<\/p>\n

\n

The voters of Jefferson County overwhelmingly expressed their support for this amendment,” Clemons said. “They recognize, like I do, that our county will benefit from the positive economic impact Downstream Development Authority will provide to us.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“Downstream has longstanding ties to the state and to the community, and I am glad to be able to offer my support for its application,” Clemons concluded.<\/p>\n

Quapaw Chairman John Berry said the tribe will soon reveal the precise location of the planned casino development.<\/p>\n

Casino Authorization<\/b><\/h2>\n

In November, Arkansas voters passed a ballot referendum to amend the state constitution and legalize commercial gambling<\/a>. The measure passed with 54.1 percent support.<\/p>\n

Known as Issue 4, the question authorizes casino gaming at the Oaklawn horse racetrack in Hot Springs and at West Memphis’ Southland parimutuel facility. The question additionally earmarks a casino each for Pope and Jefferson counties.<\/p>\n

\n

The group behind the casino question was Driving Arkansas Forward (DAF). The nonprofit caused some controversy for seemingly marketing its push for casinos under the guise that subsequent tax revenue would be set aside to improve state roads, when in reality, no such money from gambling will be required to go to the Arkansas Highway Commission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Quapaw Tribe and Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma almost entirely funded DAF. It’s expected that local officials in Pope County will pick the latter tribe for its casino.<\/p>\n

Issue 4 granted local leaders in the two counties with the power to select the gaming operators for the casinos. Quapaw operates two casinos in Oklahoma: its namesake casino, as well as the larger Downstream Casino Resort. The Cherokees own 10 casinos in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

Investments Coming<\/b><\/h2>\n

Oaklawn Park owners aren’t wasting any time in transforming the venue into a full-fledged casino. Last month, Oaklawn Racing and Gaming announced the property will be undergoing a $100 million renovation and expansion<\/a> to incorporate new gaming space.<\/p>\n

The legalization of commercial casinos is expected to pay off for the state. With gross gambling revenue taxed at 13 percent on wins up to $150 million, and 20 percent thereafter, DAF projects that $120 million in annual taxes will be generated by the four facilities.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Of the gaming taxes, 55 percent is reserved for the state, the host city collects 19.5 percent, host county eight percent, and the Arkansas Racing Commission receives 17.5 percent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma and its Downstream Development Company has been selected by local officials in Arkansas to build and operate a casino in Jefferson County. In letters expressing their support, Jefferson County Judge Booker Clemons and Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington (D) said the tribe has shown a deep commitment to investing in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":93828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13,18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOklahoma Tribe Selected to Develop Arkansas Casino in Jefferson County<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An Oklahoma tribe has been picked by local leaders in Jefferson County, Arkansas, to operate the forthcoming casino there approved by voters last month.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oklahoma Tribe Selected to Develop Arkansas Casino in Jefferson County\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An Oklahoma tribe has been picked by local leaders in Jefferson County, Arkansas, to operate the forthcoming casino there approved by voters last month.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-04T15:16:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/johnberrey.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Devin O'Connor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CasinoorgDevinO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Devin O'Connor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/\",\"name\":\"Oklahoma Tribe Selected to Develop Arkansas Casino in Jefferson County\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/johnberrey.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-04T15:16:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-04T15:16:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf\"},\"description\":\"An Oklahoma tribe has been picked by local leaders in Jefferson County, Arkansas, to operate the forthcoming casino there approved by voters last month.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/johnberrey.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/johnberrey.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Quapaw Tribal Chairman John Berry says he hopes to have his Oklahoma tribe \\\"digging dirt\\\" on its Arkansas casino by June, and is targeting a 2020 opening. (Image: Quapaw Tribe)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Commercial Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Live Casinos\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/live-casinos\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Oklahoma Tribe Selected to Develop Arkansas Casino in Jefferson County\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf\",\"name\":\"Devin O'Connor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-4-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-4-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Devin O'Connor\"},\"description\":\"Devin O'Connor is a senior reporter for Casino.org, covering politics, casino business, entertainment and gaming news on the East Coast. Devin's passion for politics and background in the world of pop culture television gives him insight into the gaming industry backstories that often drive news these days. After graduating from Penn State University with a theater arts degree, he worked at MTV Networks\/Viacom from 2005 to 2010 as a writer and producer. His credits included Total Request Live, New Year's Eve specials, and a special featuring poker superstar Daniel Negreanu. He later moved on to the HGTV\/DIY Network, where he created, wrote, and produced three series specials: That's So House Hunters, That's So 80s, and That's So 90s. Devin came on board with Casino.org in 2014. He lives in Pennsylvania and is an avid marathoner, having completed 15 races. Contact Devin at devin.oconnor@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/devinoconnor\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CasinoorgDevinO\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/devin-oconnor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Oklahoma Tribe Selected to Develop Arkansas Casino in Jefferson County","description":"An Oklahoma tribe has been picked by local leaders in Jefferson County, Arkansas, to operate the forthcoming casino there approved by voters last month.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Oklahoma Tribe Selected to Develop Arkansas Casino in Jefferson County","og_description":"An Oklahoma tribe has been picked by local leaders in Jefferson County, Arkansas, to operate the forthcoming casino there approved by voters last month.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2018-12-04T15:16:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/johnberrey.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Devin O'Connor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@CasinoorgDevinO","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Devin O'Connor","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/","name":"Oklahoma Tribe Selected to Develop Arkansas Casino in Jefferson County","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/johnberrey.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-04T15:16:14+00:00","dateModified":"2018-12-04T15:16:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf"},"description":"An Oklahoma tribe has been picked by local leaders in Jefferson County, Arkansas, to operate the forthcoming casino there approved by voters last month.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/johnberrey.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/johnberrey.jpg","width":1200,"height":900,"caption":"Quapaw Tribal Chairman John Berry says he hopes to have his Oklahoma tribe \"digging dirt\" on its Arkansas casino by June, and is targeting a 2020 opening. (Image: Quapaw Tribe)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/oklahoma-tribe-selected-to-develop-arkansas-casino-in-jefferson-county\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commercial Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Live Casinos","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/live-casinos\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Oklahoma Tribe Selected to Develop Arkansas Casino in Jefferson County"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf","name":"Devin O'Connor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-4-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-4-1-96x96.png","caption":"Devin O'Connor"},"description":"Devin O'Connor is a senior reporter for Casino.org, covering politics, casino business, entertainment and gaming news on the East Coast. Devin's passion for politics and background in the world of pop culture television gives him insight into the gaming industry backstories that often drive news these days. After graduating from Penn State University with a theater arts degree, he worked at MTV Networks\/Viacom from 2005 to 2010 as a writer and producer. His credits included Total Request Live, New Year's Eve specials, and a special featuring poker superstar Daniel Negreanu. He later moved on to the HGTV\/DIY Network, where he created, wrote, and produced three series specials: That's So House Hunters, That's So 80s, and That's So 90s. Devin came on board with Casino.org in 2014. He lives in Pennsylvania and is an avid marathoner, having completed 15 races. Contact Devin at devin.oconnor@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/devinoconnor\/","https:\/\/x.com\/CasinoorgDevinO"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/devin-oconnor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}