ARKANSAS, USA — A Pulaski County judge has ruled that Gulfside Casino is a qualified applicant and its application with the state Racing Commission must be considered.
Judge Tim Fox ruled that the state’s decision to bar Gulfside’s application because the signatures of local elected officials did not include current officeholders was incorrect.
Gulfside had the endorsement of two outgoing elected officials that seemed to meet the criteria outlined in Amendment 100, which stated that letters of support were required “from the county judge or a resolution from the county quorum court in the county where the casino would be located and, if the proposed casino is to be located within a city, a letter of support from the mayor of that city.”
The Mississippi-based casino announced plans at the end of 2018 to build a $254 million complex in Pope County.
Gulfside Casino Partnership previously submitted a letter to the Arkansas Racing Commission from Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson, who left office Dec. 31, 2018, in support of its application for casino gaming.
Gulfside said it planned to build the resort casino in a single phase, if approved by state regulators, by mid-2020.
Former Russellville Mayor Randy Horton also sent a letter of support prior to leaving office at the end of 2018.
However, the Racing Commission adopted a rule later that said the letters of support needed to be from current officeholders.
Fox ruled that the state’s additional requirement that the local officeholders must currently hold office was unconstitutional.
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