Gulfside On line casino Partnership alleges in a lawsuit filed in Arkansas’ Pulaski County Circuit Court docket that state officers colluded with a rival bidder relating to a gaming license earmarked for Pope County.
Members of the Arkansas Racing Fee and Cherokee Nation Leisure discuss after the Pope County on line casino license was awarded to the corporate. A lawsuit from rival bidder Gulfside On line casino Partnership challenges whether or not the issuance was simply. (Picture: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
Mississippi-based Gulfside is managed by riverboat pioneers Terry Inexperienced and Rick Carter. The businessmen personal the Island View On line casino in Gulfport.
Gulfside alleges in its criticism that Pope County Choose Ben Cross and the Pope County Quorum Court docket used coercive techniques to handpick the winner of the Pope County on line casino license. The 2018 poll referendum statewide voters authorized that approved a single on line casino license in Pope County got here with the requirement that candidates get hold of a letter of assist from the county decide or a decision of assist from the county quorum court docket to qualify for consideration earlier than the Arkansas Racing Fee (ARC).
The lawsuit claims that Cross and a majority of the Pope Quorum Court docket conspired to disqualify Gulfside’s $405 million pitch known as River Valley On line casino Resort in Russellville to resolve the years-long authorized dispute relating to the license.
Lawsuit Claims
Cross and the Pope Quorum Court docket by a 7-5 vote backed a competing on line casino bid from Cherokee Nation Leisure, a subsidiary of Cherokee Nation Companies (CNB), the business arm of the Cherokee Nation tribe in Oklahoma. The Cherokees proposed a $300 million on line casino known as Legends Resort & On line casino, additionally in Russellville.
Gulfside was initially deemed the winner for the Pope County on line casino concession in 2019 primarily based on ARC commissioners’ grading of every bid. ARC later decided that certainly one of its commissioners had a bias in grading the Gulfside plan an ideal 100/100 whereas solely giving 29 factors to the Cherokee proposal.
A Cherokee enchantment reached the Arkansas Supreme Court docket, which dominated that Gulfside was not a professional bidder as a result of its letter of assist got here from a former county decide — not the present sitting county decide. ARC then gave the license to Legends, however Gulfside efficiently appealed on grounds that the Cherokees additionally violated bidding guidelines by making use of as a consortium and never as a single applicant.
The license was once more returned to ARC and one other bidding spherical ensued. Gulfside wrote in its criticism that Cross and the county quorum court docket conspired to ensure solely the Cherokee plan might transfer ahead. Gulfside attorneys say Cross and the quorum court docket developed an “Financial Growth Settlement” with the Cherokees that assured the corporate with the assist of the decide and court docket in change for a $38.88 million “financial growth payment” that’s to go to Pope County’s “associated governmental entities.”
Choose Cross and the Quorum Court docket have used their energy to situation a letter of assist as a strategy to thwart the Racing Fee’s final authority to pick and award the on line casino gaming license,” the lawsuit declared.
The submitting defined that the constitutional modification voters handed didn’t restrict county judges or county quorum courts from issuing multiple letter or decision of assist.
“The wording of the Modification and the foundations subsequently adopted by the Racing Fee acknowledges that there can be a number of on line casino candidates every with a letter of assist,” the lawsuit added.
Declaratory Judgment
Gulfside says it supplied the higher on line casino plan for Pope County and a richer financial growth payment of $65 million. In contrast with the Cherokees’ Legends undertaking, Gulfside’s River Valley proposed 20,000 sq. ft of extra gaming area, 300 extra slot machines, 18 extra desk video games, and 100 extra resort rooms.
Regardless of Gulfside’s proposal being superior in each facet, due to the CNB EDA’s exclusivity requirement, the Quorum Court docket and County Choose refused to situation a decision of assist or letter of assist to Gulfside,” the criticism continued.
The lawsuit asks the court docket to void the CNB EDA on grounds that it goes in opposition to public coverage and to annul Cross’ letter of assist and the quorum court docket’s decision for the Cherokee bid. The lawsuit moreover asks the court docket to rescind ARC’s declaration that the Pope County on line casino license be awarded to Cherokee Nation Leisure.
