By a 3-2 margin, the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed and dismissed a ruling by Pulaski County Judge Tim Fox that said a ruling by the State Racing Commission that required letters of support for a casino license from local elected officials when an application is filed was unconstitutional.
Gulfside Casino Partners had filed an appeal of Fox’s ruling after they had applied for a license to operate a casino in Pope County and were turned down because their letter of support came from a former county judge.
The Racing Commission and Cherokee Nation Business, which was another applicant for the license were named in the lawsuit. In its application, Cherokee Nation Business submitted a letter of support from the current Pope County Judge as well as the Pope County Quorum Court.
In addition to Gulfside and Cherokee Nation Business, three other groups applied for the Pope County license.
When Amendment 100 to the Arkansas Constitution was approved by voters, it authorized expanding gambling at both Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs and Southland at West Memphis, plus one casino license each for Jefferson and Pope Counties.
That constitutional amendment authorized the State Racing Commission to set up rules for entities interested in obtaining the operating license in Jefferson and Pope County, including the letters of endorsement.
Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington and Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson both provided letters of support for the Quapaw Tribe which received the license to operate the Saracen Casino in Pine Bluff. The license for Pope County has been the subject of lawsuits and legal actions by both Gulfside and Cherokee National Business.
Gulfside contended in their lawsuit that Amendment 100 did not stipulate when those letters of support had to be dated or submitted but writing for the Court majority, Associate Justice Karen Baker said “we hold that the plain language of Amendment 100, passed by the people of Arkansas stating the county judge means the county judge in office at the time the casino applicant submitted its application to the ARC (Arkansas Racing Commission).”
The court ruling leaves ownership and operation of the Pope County Casino unclear at this point.
