Cherokee Nation Asks Federal Court to Dismiss Arkansas Casino Lawsuit

The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, through its business subsidiaries Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) and Cherokee Nation Entertainment, LLC, has requested a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit questioning its acquisition of a casino license in Arkansas. 

In June, the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) granted the sole gaming license designated for Pope County to Cherokee Nation Entertainment. The state gaming agency announced that another proposal from a group named Gulfside Casino Partnership was not eligible for review because it lacked a support letter from Pope County Judge Ben Cross or a majority resolution of support from the Pope County Quorum Court. 

Gulfside, which manages the Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport, Mississippi, later filed a lawsuit against the Cherokees, Racing Commission, Cross, and the Pope County Quorum Court. The lawsuit, recently transferred to the federal court in Arkansas' Eastern District, claims that Cross and the quorum court employed "coercive tactics" to ensure that only the Cherokee plan was eligible for consideration. 

The Cherokees aim to establish a $300 million casino named Legends Resort & Casino in Russellville. 

Request to Dismiss 

In their reply to the Gulfside complaint, lawyers for the Cherokee entities ask the court to reject the lawsuit. The motion details that following his inauguration in January 2019, Cross engaged with and listened to suggestions from interested parties regarding the county’s casino prospect.

"Judge Cross decided that he would support CNB and only CNB,” the motion explained. “Consistent with that decision, Judge Cross negotiated an Economic Development Agreement (EDA) with CNB that promised to provide significant benefits to Pope County.”

The Cherokee statement asserts that following Cross's completion of the EDA agreement, the Pope County Quorum Court adopted a resolution in favor of the Cherokee Nation Entertainment initiative. The Quorum Court contemplated passing an additional support resolution for the Gulfside plan following a discussion with the developers in a meeting held in June. Nevertheless, merely five of the 13 justices were prepared to support the Gulfside initiative. 

Gulfside claimed that Cross and most of the quorum court conspired to block the review of its $405 million project named River Valley Casino Resort, located in Russellville. In their reply, Cherokee lawyers assert that the assertion contradicts what Gulfside effectively contended in a previous, distinct lawsuit. 

“In prior litigation, Gulfside successfully argued that it had standing because, despite the EDA, Gulfside could obtain Pope County’s support. Arkansas law does not allow Gulfside to take such inconsistent positions in litigation,” the motion read.

Cross and the quorum court were permitted to back multiple casino proposals. However, Gulfside provided evidence indicating that another casino developer, Churchill Downs, Inc., claimed that Cross informed them during their initial meeting that they were "wasting time" since his and the quorum court's decisions were firm in favor of the Cherokee plan. 

Obstacles Persist 

In 2018, voters in Arkansas approved a casino in Pope County via a statewide ballot referendum. In addition to the Gulfside lawsuit, the future of the gaming license is at risk due to a proposed ballot referendum that aims to completely revoke the Pope County gaming concession. 

A political group named Local Voters in Charge aims to change the state’s gaming legislation to mandate that a local referendum demonstrating support from county voters for a casino must occur before the ARC can issue a gaming license. 

Earlier this month, the group delivered 162,000 signatures to the office of Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston. If at least 90,705 signatures from registered voters are confirmed from a minimum of 50 counties, the issue will be presented to statewide voters this November.