Casinos at racing sites get state OK

HOT SPRINGS — The Arkansas Racing Commission on Saturday unanimously approved a license application form for prospective casino proprietors and gave its blessing for two gambling operations in the state to begin offering live table games and sports wagering next month.

The commission took up the matters Saturday morning in a meeting at Oaklawn Racing and Gaming in Hot Springs, marking a significant step in implementing Amendment 100, which Arkansas voters passed in November.

Commissioners approved allowing the state’s two racetracks — Oaklawn Racing and Gaming and Southland Gaming and Racing in West Memphis — to begin full casino operations April 1.

Both will start offering table games on April 1, and sports wagering is expected to quickly follow, although the timeline for sports betting is not yet firm, Oaklawn attorney Skip Ebel said.

By July 1, Ebel said, electronic, sports-based and live gambling will be offered.

The commission also decided that the application period for those seeking licenses to place casinos in Pope and Jefferson counties — which currently have no legal gambling facilities — will begin May 1 and close at the end of the month.

A public notice to that effect will be published this week.

Amendment 100, which was an initiated proposal, authorizes four casino licenses

to be issued in the state — one each for new casinos in Pope and Jefferson counties, and one at each racetrack.

The now-approved application form does not include a caveat that the constitutionally required endorsements by local officials for casinos must be from current local government officials. That requirement has been a matter of contention in recent months.

Endorsements in Jefferson County and Pine Bluff, the county seat, are from current local government leaders and are not an issue, according to previous reports. Their endorsements are for a proposed Saracen Casino Resort, a $240 million project to be located near The Pines mall, previous reports say.

That is not the case in Pope County and its county seat, Russellville.

Citizens in Pope County and Russellville had voted in November against the casino amendment and also approved an ordinance that any local official endorsement would require the backing of voters. However, in December, officials from Pope County and Russellville submitted letters of support, without voter approval, just before they left office for a proposal by Gulfside Casino Partnership.

Current city and county leaders have said they will follow the will of their constituents.

The Racing Commission ruled last month that it would accept only letters of support from currently serving public officials, effectively invalidating the endorsements from former Pope County and Russellville officials.

Concerns about the endorsements never came up in Saturday’s meeting, and it was only after the meeting that commission attorney Byron Freeland commented on the matter to a reporter.

The application form approved Saturday does not stipulate that the public official endorsing the casino must be in office at the time of the application, according to documents from the state Department of Finance and Administration, which oversees the Racing Commission, but Freeland said commission rules do.

Freeland said, in the eyes of the commission, this would render invalid any application submitted with former officials’ endorsement. Though the commission considered allowing former county or city leaders to endorse casino operations, Freeland said that was never approved.

The rejection of Pope County’s application could quash Gulfside Casino Partnership’s proposal to build a 600-room, $254 million hotel and casino in Russellville. Gulfside attorney Casey Castleberry told the commission that Gulfside could sue if the previous endorsements were not accepted.

The four-page application form asks for basic information on the potential casino operator as well as a detailed explanation of the applicant’s casino experience; timeline for opening the facility; proof of financial stability and access to financial resources; and plans for the proposed casino and its amenities.

The package includes a notice that all applicants will be interviewed by the Racing Commission, which will select the “most qualified applicant.”

Any applicant that is not accepted will receive only half of the $250,000 application fee back, and commissioner Michael Post noted that $125,000 is a weighty fee for rejection.

Commission Chairman Alex Lieblong clarified that the fee would apply only to entities identified as “legitimate applicants,” and that those that are ruled out early would not face paying that fee.

Ultimately, those whose applications are seriously considered will meet with the commission before any licenses are approved, Freeland said.