#Pope County

Previously known as one of the most popular gambling destinations throughout the United States, Arkansas is a state that gamblers today tend to avoid. This boycott is due to the state's strict and often outdated gambling laws. Opened in 1905, Oaklawn was the first venue that could be classified as a casino. It offered racing and a few gaming…

The contentious path to building a casino in Pope County took yet another turn Thursday when Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox ruled that Arkansas officials "unconstitutionally" granted a casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses. Gulfside Casino Partnership had appealed a November 2021 decision by the Arkansas Racing Commission to…

The contentious path to building a casino in Pope County took yet another turn Thursday (Jan. 12) when Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox ruled that Arkansas officials "unconstitutionally" granted a casino license to Cherokee Nation Businesses. Gulfside Casino Partnership had appealed a November 2021 decision by the Arkansas Racing…

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled against an Oklahoma tribal gaming company's license to put the state's fourth casino in Russellville POPE COUNTY, Ark. - A Pulaski County circuit judge on Thursday voided an Oklahoma tribal gaming company's license to put the state's fourth casino in Russellville, stalling a $225 million project and…

More than four years have passed since Arkansans approved a constitutional amendment to put one of four newly legal casinos in Pope County. POPE COUNTY, Ark. - More than four years have passed since Arkansans approved a constitutional amendment to put one of four newly legal casinos in Pope County, but odds are strong the long-delayed project will…

According to Arkansas Advocate, Judge Timothy Fox is expected to rule on the matter of Legends Resort and Casino and their entitlement to open a new casino in Pope County. The ruling will be made public in the upcoming days, putting an end to the four-year controversy regarding who should be the rightful operator of the fourth authorized casino in…

In the southern American state of Arkansas and a judge has reportedly thrown out two motions that were attempting to squash a lawsuit earlier brought against the plan to build and run the proposed Legends Resort and Casino development. According to a Thursday report from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper, Pulaski County Circuit…

The Arkansas Racing Commission on Thursday authorized Arkansas' casinos to contract with companies that offer multistate, progressive jackpot games on slot machines. The commission's action clears the way for the Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff to contract with IGT for the multijurisdictional wide area progressive system MegaJackpots. With the…

The Arkansas Racing Commission authorized Thursday state casinos to sign agreements with companies that offer multistate, progressive jackpot games on slot machines; thus allowing for the Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff to contract with IGT for the multijurisdictional wide area progressive system MegaJackpots. With the commission's…

Casino opponents proposing a constitutional amendment intended to remove Pope County as a state-license casino site have failed to submit enough signatures of registered voters that would have granted them an additional 30 days to gather the needed signatures to get on the ballot. The news was confirmed by Secretary of State John Thurston on…

The committee promoting a proposed constitutional amendment that would ax Pope County as a state-licensed casino site failed to submit enough signatures of registered voters to qualify for 30 more days to collect more signatures to get on the ballot, Secretary of State John Thurston said Monday. Thurston said the Fair Play for Arkansas committee…

The Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners will not certify the ballot title for a proposed constitutional amendment intended to remove Pope County as a state-license casino site. The decision was taken on Wednesday through a vote. The commissioners said the Choctaw Tribe-funded ballot title lacked a reference to the existing license held…

The state Board of Election Commissioners on Wednesday declined to certify the popular name and ballot title for a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at removing Pope County as a state-licensed casino site. In a voice vote with no audible dissenters, the board approved a motion by commissioner Bilenda Harris-Ritter not to certify the ballot…

Proponents of a proposed constitutional amendment that would remove Pope County as a site for a casino raised more than $1 million in June. The Fair Play for Arkansas 2022 committee reported raising $1.2 million in contributions and spending $946923.12 in June. According to the report, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma contributed $1.2 million to the…

The Choctaw Tribe-funded Fair Play for Arkansas, which seeks to repeal the Arkansas Constitution legalization of a casino permit in Pope County already awarded to the Cherokee Nation, said Monday it has 100000 signatures on its proposed constitutional amendment. The number represents 11000 more than the signatures required, given that all are…

Proponents of a proposed constitutional amendment that would remove Pope County as a site for a casino said they turned in about 103000 signatures of registered voters Friday in their attempt to qualify their proposed measure for the Nov. 8 general election ballot. James Knight, president of the Fair Play for Arkansas 2022 committee, certified in…

Fair Play Arkansas, the Choctaw Tribe-financed effort to repeal the Arkansas Constitution's legalization of a casino permit in Pope County, said it submitted 100000 signatures on its proposed constitutional amendment today. That's about 11000 more than needed, if all are qualifying registered voters and distributed among 15 counties. But stiffened…

A ballot question committee formed in February to thwart another group's efforts to remove through a statewide ballot measure the provision in the Arkansas Constitution permitting a casino in Pope County. The Arkansas Tourism Alliance has $1.1 million in cash on hand, according to its first campaign finance report filed with the Arkansas Ethics…

Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB)'s Legends Resort & Casino in Pope County, Arkansas, still remains on hold amid litigation. CNB has yet to schedule a groundbreaking for the $225 million property, expected to create more than 1000 direct jobs. According to Arkansas Business, CEO Chuck Garrett said that once work begins, it would take between 18 to…

A roulette wheel spins in 2018 at Cherokee Casino & Hotel in West Siloam Springs, Okla. (File Photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette/Ben Goff) LITTLE ROCK -- A lawsuit filed Tuesday asked the Pulaski County Circuit Court to issue a temporary restraining order halting any movement on a casino in Pope County until the question of whether Legends Resort and…

Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation Businesses has won the latest battle in a contentious fight to secure Arkansas' final casino license, potentially clearing a path for construction of a $225 million resort. The Arkansas Racing Commission voted 3-2 on Friday to award the license to the tribe, voiding an earlier decision that gave the last of four…

The Pope County casino license will be awarded to Cherokee Nation Businesses of Oklahoma by the close of business Monday, the Arkansas Racing Commission ruled Friday afternoon. The meeting, which was held with the majority of the members participating by telephone, lasted less than 30 minutes, but was fraught with lengthy moments of silence when…

In Arkansas and the contest to pick the operator for a proposed Pope County casino has reportedly hit another stumbling block after the successful licensee had its winning bid effectively invalidated by the state's highest court. According to a Thursday report from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper, an entity known as Gulfside Casino…

The columns that protrude from the top of Saracen Casino Resort is the starting point for the construction of a hotel, casino officials say.(Pine Bluff Commercial/Byron Tate) A year ago, mask-wearing officials and dignitaries strolled through the gaming area of Saracen Casino Resort as the doors to the full-sized casino were opened for the first…

A Pope County anti-casino group is moving full steam ahead on a petition drive to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the state's general election ballot next year that would remove the county as one of the locations for a casino. The effort by the grassroots group Fair Play Arkansas continues despite an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling…

From left, Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Karen Baker, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox and Ben Cross, the current county judge of Pope County, are shown in this undated combination photo. Actions by the state Legislature and the Arkansas Racing Commission to add rules and requirements to the casino amendment were in line with the Arkansas…

Some members of the Pope County Quorum Court say they want the public to know that the county judge does not represent them when it comes to the casino controversy there. Meanwhile, one of the contenders vying to operate a casino there announced that it is joining forces with an Arkansas-based contractor to break ground at its Russellville site. A…

A roulette wheel spins in 2018 at Cherokee Casino & Hotel in West Siloam Springs, Okla. (File Photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette/Ben Goff) Some members of the Pope County Quorum Court say they want the public to know that the county judge does not represent them when it comes to the casino controversy there. Meanwhile, one of the contenders vying to…

The Fair Play for Arkansas committee has proposed once again a constitutional amendment to remove Pope County as a location for a casino. Larry Walker, a committee spokesman, said in an email Thursday morning that the group filed its petition to the Arkansas secretary of state's office for an amendment to remove Pope County as a location for casino…

A roulette wheel spins in 2018 at Cherokee Casino & Hotel in West Siloam Springs, Okla. (File Photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette/Ben Goff) Regardless of whether a circuit judge rules Friday on the constitutionality of a casino endorsement letter from a former Pope County official, the outcome is certain, say some of the players: continued litigation. "It…