Pope County officials signaling split with exec on casino filing

Some members of Pope County Quorum Court want the public to know that the county judge does not represent them in the casino controversy there. One of the contenders vying to operate a casino there announced that it is joining forces with an Arkansas-based contractor to break ground at its Russellville site.

The resolution is sponsored by District 12 Justice Joseph Pearson. It comes after Cross filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Cherokee Nation Businesses in a case before the Arkansas Supreme Court. Cherokee Business is fighting for the Pope County casino license against Mississippi casino operator Gulfside Casino Partnership. The resolution chides Cross for interjecting himself without the support from the Quorum Court and the citizens of Pope county. This is the third time in the past year that Cross has been warned by the quorum court. He claims to represent the county, but 13 of the justices disagree with that.

Pope County officials are in disagreement with the executive of Cherokee Nation Businesses. Cherokee Business paid for the amicus curiae brief preparation. The brief was filed by Clay McCall of the McCalls Law Firm. Clay was paid $1 for filing the brief. The amici brief is supported by the counties, the legislature and the Racing Commission. It was also supported in part by County Judges. County paid nothing for its involvement in the filing. Clay is the county's attorney only in matters involving casino issues.

Amendment 100 authorized expansion of gambling operations at racetracks in Hot Springs and West Memphis into full-fledged casinos. It also allowed the Racing Commission to issue one casino license each in Jefferson and Pope counties. The Racing commission last year awarded the license to Gulfside. Cherokee Nation appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court.

Gulfside is moving forward with its plans to open a casino in Russellville. It recently gained a 7-1 approval of its development plans from the Russellvile Planning Commission. On Thursday, Gulfside announced it has formed a joint venture with Nabholz Corp. and AnderCorp to oversee the construction of the Pope County project, River Valley Casino Resort. The project is expected to cost $254 million and include 1,900 slot machines and 500 hotel rooms. The city of Russellvill has not approved the design phase of this project yet.