POPE COUNTY, Ark — The Arkansas Racing Commission will meet Thursday to decide what a company has to do to apply for a casino license. One company thought it had good odds to get a license in Pope County, only to see the rules of the game changing on it.
A co-owner of Gulfside Casino Partners visited Arkansas again on Tuesday and met with THV11 to discuss his company, his plan for a casino in Pope County, and the backlash his bid has received.
“You know, hopefully, sooner or later, somebody’s gonna build a casino in Pope County,” Terry Green said. “And I think what we’re the (company) for that job.”
Gulfside Casino Partners has announced plans to build a $250 million casino resort outside Russellville if it can get a license from the state. Amendment 100, approved by voters statewide in November, allows one casino operator license to be granted in Pope County and Jefferson County, as well as expanded gaming at Oaklawn and Southland Park.
“We wanted to bring a resort-type casino,” Green said, “and when we talked to the mayor and when we also talked to the county judge, we expressed to them that we thought this was a great location for a casino that would be a resort casino. And that’s something different, I think that we offered that nobody else did.”
Former Russellville Mayor Randy Horton and former Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson each sent letters to the Arkansas Racing Commission in support of Gulfside. (Horton did not need to since Green said the proposed casino would be outside Russellville city limits.) Those letters came in the final days of each man’s term, which added to the debate about Gulfside’s bid.
Pope County voters opposed Amendment 100 by a 61-39 percent margin in November, and also approved a local ordinance requiring a majority of Pope County voters approve any proposal to build a casino. A lawsuit has since been filed to determine the validity of the letters sent by Horton and Gibson, and whether the county ordinance supersedes the state constitutional amendment. (Green chose not to comment on any pending litigation.)
Draft rules under consideration by the Arkansas Racing Commission modified the language of Amendment 100 to add that the required letters of support, “shall be dated and signed by the County Judge, Quorum Court members, or Mayor holding office at the time of the submission of an application for a casino gaming license.”
Both the current mayor of Russellville and the current county judge of Pope County have told THV11 that will not send letters of their own, in large part because of opposition from their constituents.
Green, who has approximately 30 years of experience in the gaming industry, said he remembers the same kind of opposition when he first got into the business in Mississippi.
“In the early days, there was a lot of people that was not for gaming in Mississippi,” he recalled, “and, I think, there’s always the concept that, oh, there’s gonna be crime, or the prices of our housing’s gonna go down. But none of that happened in Mississippi.”
Green and his business partner, Rick Carter, own the Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport, Mississippi. It has 126,000 square feet of gaming space, 980 hotel rooms, a spa, and a golf course, and employs 1,840 people. He says residents of Pope County might not understand how big an economic impact a casino could have.
“We’ve put somewhere over $900 million into the state budget,” he said of his Mississippi property. “Just like this particular deal. This particular deal we’re proposing will bring $28 million in taxes. It will have over 1,600 jobs, a payroll of $35 million.”
Green said he was shocked when the Arkansas Racing Commission changed its proposed rules to say that an outgoing politician could not support an operator. He said he believed the constitutional amendment was clear and would lead to big things for Gulfside and Pope County.
“We thought, hey, now all we have to do is present our package to the Racing Commission,” he stated. “And, of course, we found out that’s a different story now.”
To further win over hearts and minds, Gulfside announced Tuesday that it would donate $20 million to Pope County schools if it gets the license.
“We do this in Mississippi,” he explained, “so, it was an idea that we came up with to show the people of Russellville and Pope County that we want to be a good corporate citizen.”
Green said the casino would contribute $1 million per year for 20 years to be distributed to the five school districts within Pope County.
“And they could use the money wherever they want, or however they want,” he added. “And that’s why we wanted the superintendents to be involved in this, so, if they want basketball courts, they’ll build basketball courts; if they want a swimming pool, they’ll build a swimming pool.”
Green believes Gulfside’s proposal would bring the best combination of gaming experience, luxury amenities, community engagement, and economic impact for Pope County, if the court system or Racing Commission ultimately side with his application.
“The mayor understood what we were trying to do. Judge Gibson understood what we were trying to do. We made a proposal and they accepted it, and they both gave us a letter. So, that’s why we’re up here, because we do have the letters. We feel like they’re legal, so we’re gonna try to build a casino.”