On Saturday, an open letter to Pope County citizens was posted on the Hard Rock Arkansas Facebook page. In the letter, representatives from Hard Rock, the casino proposed by Las Vegas-based Warner Gaming, claimed another applicant will receive a letter of support on Tuesday. The company’s portfolio includes two other Hard Rock casinos it operates, including the one in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Remarkably, we were asked if we could submit our final offer after we were informed that a different operator will be selected,\u201d the letter stated. \u201cThis clearly is not what we expected when we started this process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have continually asked for a fair, open and transparent process, and all of the applicants who have spent a significant amount of time and money deserve this. More importantly, the public deserves this. We still welcome the chance to give a formal, public presentation to county officials and be evaluated on the merits of our proposal. Should that opportunity arise, we\u2019ll be the first in line to give our best offer.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
While that letter does not indicate the applicant, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette<\/em> reported that a representative from the Choctaw Nation Division of Commerce told a reporter the letter would go to the Cherokee Nation Businesses. In addition, the paper also obtained a copy of a letter Bill Warner, CEO of Warner Gaming, sent to Pope County Judge Ben Cross that indicated Cross also told him about the Cherokee selection.<\/p>\nMichelle Shriver, a Warner Gaming spokeswoman, told Casino.org<\/em> on Sunday the company had no comment on the letter Warner personally sent to Cross.<\/p>\nAn attempt to get a statement from a Choctaw spokesperson Sunday was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
Neither Cherokee Nation officials nor Cross could be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
Cherokee Partner Has Ties to State<\/h2>\n
In June, Cherokee Nation announced a partnership with Legends to develop a \u201cworld-class entertainment complex\u201d for Pope County. Legends is a company founded in 2008 by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the late George Steinbrenner. Shipping magnate Steinbrenner, who also owned the New York Yankees, died in 2010.<\/p>\n
Jones played football at Arkansas and was a co-captain on the Razorbacks’ 1964 championship team.<\/p>\n
In addition to bids submitted by Cherokee National Business, Choctaw Nation Division of Commerce, Warner Gaming, and Gulfside Casino Partnership, Pope County also received a bid from Kehl Management.<\/p>\n
Casinos have already opened at Oaklawn Racing and Gaming in Hot Springs and Southland Casino Dog Track in West Memphis. Last week, officials from the Downstream Development Authority of the Quapaw Tribe broke ground on a $350 million casino in Pine Bluff<\/a>. That casino is expected to open next June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The developer proposing Hard Rock Arkansas, one of the five groups seeking a casino license in Pope County, Ark., accused government leaders of unfair practices and claimed another proposal will get the county\u2019s support. The accusation comes as the Pope County Quorum Court, the county\u2019s legislative body, announced a specially called meeting for Tuesday afternoon. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":111884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33810,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Hard Rock Arkansas Group Says County Leaders Will Back Another Plan<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n