By Ray King
With the planned opening of the Saracen Casino on the horizon, Joseph Byrd, the new chairman of the business committee of the Quapaw Tribe paid his first visit to Pine Bluff last Friday and among those he met were Mayor Shirley Washington.
Appearing on the Oldies 101.3 morning show Tuesday, Washington talked about that meeting.
Washington was also asked how much revenue the city was expecting to receive when the casino is in full operation.
She said the city had projected how much funding it would receive from the annex and then the big casino this year and those funds were used to give city employees a pay raise. She said that despite COVID and the shut-down of a number of businesses, including the annex, city revenue has been holding steady or even a little above projections.
Washington went on to say she hoped that trend continues through the end of the year.
