Tribe Wants Casino in Washington County
by July 4, 2016 12:00 am 146 views
The gaming, entertainment and hospitality company of the Cherokee Nation has plans to run a casino, hotel and entertainment venue in Washington County if voters approve a constitutional amendment to allow casino gaming.
On June 23, Arkansas Wins in 2016 LLC announced a partnership with Cherokee Nation Entertainment and plans for the casino, hotel and venue. Arkansas Wins in 2016 is a ballot committee formed to support the approval of a constitutional amendment to allow casino gaming in Washington, Boone and Miller counties.
Robert Coon, spokesman for Arkansas Wins in 2016, said the group is “on pace” to gather the 84,859 signatures needed to place the amendment on the general election ballot in November. July 8 is the deadline to submit the signatures.
The group started later than planned because Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge rejected the ballot title and popular name May 12. But the organization received approval June 1, Coon said. “Canvassers started a day later.”
The goal is have between 100,000 and 110,000 signatures in case some “don’t pass muster,” he said.
The Washington County casino would be Cherokee Nation Entertainment’s first casino not on tribal land.
The exact site for the casino would likely be determined after the election, Coon said.
Coon expects that the venue would host concerts, like at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa — the flagship property of Cherokee Nation Entertainment.
In its most recent fiscal year, Cherokee Nation Entertainment, which operates nine Oklahoma casinos, employed more than 4,000 people, providing a payroll of $182.7 million, and invested $45.4 million into job creation. It’s also paid $28.4 million in gaming fees to Oklahoma.