Cherokee Nation Returns Pope County Casino License to Court Following Referendum

Posted on: November 11, 2024, 11:05h. 

Last updated on: November 11, 2024, 11:11h.

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

A subsidiary of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma filed a federal lawsuit last Friday alleging that its constitutional rights have been violated by a statewide gaming referendum in Arkansas.

Cherokee Nation Arkansas casino Pope County
The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is challenging the outcome of Issue 2 in Arkansas. The statewide referendum repealed a gaming license issued to the tribe for a casino in Pope County’s Russellville. (Image: NBC4)

Last week, Arkansas voters approved Issue 2 with 56% support. The ballot referendum repeals a commercial casino license earmarked for Pope County that was awarded to Cherokee Nation Entertainment in June. The Cherokees had planned to invest $300 million in Russellville to build Legends Resort & Casino.

Issue 2 repealed the license on grounds that local voters in Pope County didn’t approve of a casino undertaking in 2018 when a statewide referendum authorized commercial casinos in the counties of Crittenden, Garland, Jefferson, and Pope. Issue 2 further amends the Arkansas Constitution to require that casino licenses only be allocated to counties where a local referendum in support of slot machines, table games, and sports betting is attained.

Back to Court 

The Pope County casino license has been tied up in courts for years. While the three casinos in Crittenden, Garland, and Jefferson have since opened, the Pope project failed to break ground more than six years after Arkansans initially authorized a casino there in 2018.

After years of legal wrangling, the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) determined in June that only the Cherokees’ bid for the Pope County gaming concession qualified for review, and therefore, was deemed the winner. With Issue 2 repealing the license effective November 13, the Cherokees’ legal team is contesting the referendum’s implications.

Filed in Arkansas’ Eastern District Court, the Cherokees allege the referendum infringes on their constitutional rights.

Cherokee Nation Entertainment is firmly committed to protecting its constitutional rights, defending its lawfully issued casino license, and safeguarding the substantial investments it made in good faith based on the establishment of the Pope County casino license under Amendment 100 in 2018,” Bart Calhoun, an attorney for Cherokee Nation Entertainment, said in a statement.

The Cherokee Nation’s costs in its pursuit to open a commercial casino in Arkansas have been substantial. The tribe spent $12.5 million in unsuccessfully trying to defeat Issue 2. Its legal fees over the past six years amount to many millions more.

The tribe’s legal complaint seeks declaratory relief that the amendment be held unconstitutional and that a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction preventing the amendment from taking effect on Wednesday be granted.

Baseless Complaint 

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said he wasn’t surprised by the Cherokee filing. The state’s top attorney said his office is prepared to defend the amendment and called the allegations made by the Cherokees “baseless.”

Hans Stiritz, a spokesperson for Local Voters in Charge, the political campaign bankrolled by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma that was behind the Issue 2 amendment, echoed Griffin’s opinion.

This legal action to attempt to bypass the voice of Arkansas voters is not unexpected,” said Stiritz. “But we are fully confident in the process that brought Issue 2 to the ballot. Arkansas voters have spoken clearly on Issue 2 and we expect it to stand.”

Unlike in 2018 when voters in Pope County opposed the gaming push, the county last week opposed Issue 2, meaning a majority of the electorate there now supports housing a casino in the county.