Tag: gambling expansion

$250 Million Casino Proposed for Pope County

Posted on by Kat Orlov

It was recently announced that a Mississippi-based casino plans to build a $250 million complex in Pope County, something that has been subject to an almost equal measure of opposition and support. In a letter submitted to the Arkansas Racing Commission by the Gulfside Casino Partnership, outgoing Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson declared his support for casino gaming in the region. Gulfside, during their announcement, revealed that it has plans to build a $250 million resort casino if approved by the state’s gaming regulator – this would be done in three phases and would be completed in mid-2020. This comes just a little over a month after voters in Arkansas approved Issue 4 (currently referred to as Amendment 100) which allowed for expanded casino operations at Southland and Oaklawn as well as new casinos in Pope and Jefferson Counties.

According to Terry Green, the co-owner of Gulfside Casino Partnership, the $250 million casino project will be great for the casino will be great for the county as it will create over 1,5000 new jobs and generated millions of dollars in tax revenue once it goes live. This will greatly improve infrastructure and overall quality of life in the state.

So far, most local elected officials have been the biggest opposers of the proposed casino. Last Friday, Pope County Judge-elect Ben Cross who will be taking office today (January 1, 2019) said he was opposed to the casino being built in the county.

“It is with great discouragement and dismay to have learned of the actions of the current county judge in regards to the casino issue. To have a lame duck official act in total disregard to the express wishes of the residents of Pope County is appalling and a complete affront to our representative democracy,” Cross said in a statement.

Support from the Outgoing Mayor

On his last day in office, Russellville Mayor Randy Horton expressed his support for the proposal to build the 600-room hotel and casino in Pope County despite the strong opposition from some the residents as well as an ongoing lawsuit over another official’s support for the project. Randy Horton who lost his reelection bid joins outgoing County Judge Jim Ed Gibson in supporting the Gulfside Casino partnership which happens to have ties to a group that operates a casino on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

During his election campaign, Mr. Horton largely dodged making a statement in regards to where he stood on the issue of the casino amendment. This presents a very interesting dynamic since Richard Harris, who defeated Horton in the election, is opposed to the casino plans. Furthermore, the residents of Pope County largely voted against the constitutional amendment expanding gambling but it was statewide approval that counted in the long run.

As per the terms of the amendment, only approval from a county judge or mayor – depending on the location that the casino developer will choose – is required for the casino application to be approved in Jefferson of Pope County.

 

Kat Orlov

Newcomer Kat is our newcomer poker aficionado whos skill not only lives on the table but flourishes on the site as through her many sources she never fails to be the first to hear of any important or exciting poker news around the world.

Casino Gambling May Finally Be Headed to Virginia

Posted on by Sophia Rojas

Three cities in Virginia have will be joining forces in a bid to bring casino gambling to the state, the main reason being that they hope the industry will assist in securing revenue amid the state’s current financial struggles. Two of the cities – Portsmouth and Bristol – have already made it clear that they are all in with the plans to persuade the government of Virginia to legalize casino gambling and Danville, the third city, is on track to join them. Members of Danville’s City Council are currently gearing to pass similar resolutions as the other two cities within the next few days.

As it stands, casino gambling is still an illegal activity in the state of Virginia and to make the situation even worse than it already is, the state’s Legislature has consistently thrown any attempts to introduce online gambling in the state under the bus. Even though this has gone on for decades, in 2018, lawmakers have high hopes that the stance of the state may finally be softening following the legalization of the historical horse race betting.

Two Virginia lawmakers, with support from Bristol, have begun work on a bill that is expected to allow the residents of the city to vote on the potential construction of a casino in a referendum – this bill will be introduced during the 2019 legislative session of Virginia’s General Assembly. According to Randy Eads, the Bristol City Manager, the city is in dire need of an opportunity to improve its financial situation especially because its debt load “is getting ready to increase dramatically over the next several years”. He believes that the gambling revenue will be very useful in alleviating these financial issues not just for Bristol but for other cities in the state as well.

The Bristol City Manager is also confident that the casino effort will face very little opposition after it passed all of the hurdles in the state’s legislature. However, this claim might be too optimistic especially considering the fact that a Bristol family organization has already launched an effort that opposes the establishment of a casino resort in the city. The family argues that any gambling activity in the state would only lead to “addiction, poverty, higher crime, prostitution, sex trafficking, drugs, diminished poverty values, etc.”

Proposed Developments

While the other cities have been making tremendous strides towards the push for the legalization of sports betting and online gambling, Bristol has been more proactive in pursuing the agenda. Developers in the city have even gone as far as pitching a $150-million plan for a casino resort in the city which they believe will come with new jobs and revenue for the region and the state. Members of the city council have also expressed confidence that, if the project materializes, it could result in a much-needed economic boost in the region.

Sophia Rojas

Growing up around law firms, Sophia keeps our team of reporters atop any legislative developments to follow up with a welcomed dose of positive news as our house trivia nut!

Sportsbetting Continues American Expansion

Posted on by Grant Mahon

When it comes to sportsbetting expansion across America, things are moving quickly along. We’re seeing more and more states considering the option of legalizing sportsbetting, with Illinois and DC holding hearings on the topic – while a casino in New Mexico has just gone ahead and started taking wagers.

Gambling Hearings in Illinois and DC

At the House of Representatives in Illinois, lawmakers held a hearing on a potential gambling expansion which would include sportsbetting, online casino games and daily fantasy sports. Local casino operator expressed their support of expanding the gambling market within the state while representatives from sports leagues suggested that they should receive a portion of all wagers.

Some stakeholders expressed concerns that they would lose out on revenue due to increased competition. However, states like New Jersey and Delaware that have introduced online gambling have only seen revenue increase across the board, particularly in land-based gaming venues. This has resulted in more money being in paid in taxes and more jobs being created – both of which are huge benefits to the economy.

In the end, it seemed as though nothing will be done anytime soon. Even though the state Senate approved a bill in 2017, lawmakers haven’t done very much to move things forward. Now, even after this hearing, the fate of online gambling in Illinois is still unknown.

In DC, lawmakers came together to discuss amending the state’s gambling laws to include sportsbetting as a legalized activity. Things were certainly more positive here, as the Council has agreed to ensure that the law is approved before the end of the year. The only issue is deciding whether sportsbetting activities will be run by the DC Lottery or several different licensees.

New Mexico is Already Accepting Wagers

While some states are still humming and hawing over whether or not they should allow sportsbetting among their residents, New Mexico has simply powered on ahead. The Pueblo of Santa Ana tribe has started accepting wagers at the Santa Ana Star Casino & Hotel.

The venue has not mentioned any plans of launching online betting operations or allowing off-site wagers. Currently, punters can place their bets using four windows and two automated kiosks at the Santa Ana Star. There is one specific restriction, and that is the prohibition of betting on college teams.

This is an interesting one, as the move has been made without official state approval. Instead, the tribe has insisted that sportsbetting is included in the tribal-state gaming compact as a Class III gaming activity. So, any venues that want to launch sports betting in New Mexico will likely have to be tribal casinos and take a similar route. Other gaming companies will have to wait until the state’s lawmakers approve betting across New Mexico.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.