Mike Goad
Rural Pope County
Russellville City Council and Mayor Teague (via email)
cc: Quorum Court and Judge Cross (via email)
Dear Council Members and Mayor Teague
I am writing because of a proposed resolution that I believe will be on this week’s agenda.
While I live in the county, not the city of Russellville, the Pope County casino is a county issue and a city issue. I am writing to express some of my thoughts related to the casino, Pope County, and Russellville.
The casino will be in Russellville.
On July 11, 2022, the Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB)/Legends Large Scale Development plan was approved by the Russellville Planning Commission.
One of the Commission’s requirements is that the property has to be annexed into Russellville before building permits will be issued.
Judge Cross has previously committed to annexation, as has CNB.
Amendment 100 requires that casino applications include a letter of support from the county judge or a resolution of support from the county quorum court and, if it is in the city, a letter of support from the mayor.
Pope County Judge Ben Cross has provided a letter of support for Cherokee Nation Entertainment, and the Pope County Quorum Court has passed a Resolution of Support for Cherokee Nation Entertainment. The license application will be under the name Cherokee Nation Entertainment. The casino resort will be Legends Resort and Casino, Arkansas.
Judge Ben Cross has repeatedly stated that he will not provide a letter of support for any other entity seeking the license. I have been assured that the quorum court will not have the seven votes necessary to pass a resolution of support for any new operator.
Resolution No. _____ — A Resolution Expressing the City’s Invitation to All Casino Operators To Explore The Possibility Of Locating Their Casino Operations Within the City Limits…
I don’t understand the point of this proposed new resolution. In the current environment related to the casino, it seems to me that this has the potential to result in more harm than benefit.
Even if passed, this resolution would have no more lasting effect than the 2019 Community Gaming Evaluation Committee or the City Council’s Unapproved Resolution of October 17, 2019, “A Resolution in Support of Elite Casino Resorts, LLC/River Ridge Casino Resort, LLC, to Operate Within the City of Russellville, Arkansas.”
It also seems as though this new resolution might conflict with the City Council’s November 21, 2019, Resolution No. 1782, “A Resolution Welcoming Cherokee Nation Business to the Community …”
The way this new resolution is written, it sounds like you are saying, “We are inviting all entities interested in applying for the Pope County casino license to contact Russellville except for the one already selected by the county.”
Potential Loss of Economic Development Monies
If another entity receives either a letter of support from the county judge or a resolution of support from the quorum court, the binding and enforceable Economic Development Agreement (EDA) between Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) and Pope County will be potentially voided.
- On its face, the EDA is worth more than $150,000,000 to Pope County and area communities.
- The EDA clearly states in plain language that it is contingent upon exclusive support by Pope County.
- A letter of support from the county judge or a resolution of support from the quorum court for another entity would violate that exclusive support clause, potentially voiding the EDA.
o “In the event that the County, either through letter from the County Judge’s Office or Resolution of the Quorum Court, endorses or expresses support for any other casino license applicant during the term of this Agreement, this Agreement shall become voidable, at the election of the Operator, after which Operator shall no longer be bound hereunder and may continue to pursue its casino license application utilizing the Resolution of Support before the Commission.” (page 9 of the EDA)
An Undeserved Public Relations Gift
One entity, in particular, is very interested in any opportunity to get a foot in the door.
This resolution gives Gulfside an opportunity to say something like:
We want to express our appreciation to the city of Russellville for acknowledging that the casino selection process is only in its initial phase. We urge the county to welcome proposals from all casino applicants, just as the city has done. This resolution recognizes that there may be other applicants who would be a great fit for Pope County, and we will be excited to demonstrate to the quorum court why Gulfside is the top choice.
A less-than-optimum choice
Gulfside owner Terry Green has kept his 2019 word when he threatened to sue if he didn’t get a letter or resolution of support. Gulfside Casino Partnership has kept the Pope County casino license tied up in litigation since August 15, 2019, until very recently.
On November 12, 2021, Gulfside lost the license after the Arkansas Supreme Court essentially ruled that their one-line letter of support from former Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson was invalid and, thus, the application by which they were awarded the license was incomplete.
After that, Gulfside continued to pursue litigation through the hope that someday it might have a chance to obtain a letter or resolution of support from Pope County.
Gulfside is decidedly a less-than-optimum choice for a casino operator.
On April 20, 2020, Russellville resident and former Racing Commissioner Thomas Akin sent a five-page letter to Councilman Chis Olson concerning a resolution of welcome for Gulfside Casino Partnership. In the letter, Aiken detailed his concerns about the backgrounds of Terry Green and Rick Carter, the owners of Gulfside Casino Partnership, including information that wasn’t included in their application for a casino license in Pope County.
Following the October 26, 2023, decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court that ended the litigation, Casey Castleberry, an attorney for Gulfside, released a statement saying:
Just as the Racing Commission selected our superior application in 2020 in a head-to-head with Legends, we look forward to demonstrating again to county leaders and residents how our proposed world-class resort will benefit them and the entire state.
On the unlikely possibility that members of the quorum court might consider a resolution of support for Gulfside, I started researching the backgrounds of Terry Green, Rick Carter, Carter-Green-Redd, LLC., and Pride Cruise Lines. I compiled a 30-page document, Omissions – Pertinent gaming industry history not included in Gulfside’s application, detailing what I found.
In 2020, before the Arkansas Racing Commission, Terry Green denied that he had ever been a party to bankruptcy and that he and Rick Carter had only been minor shareholders of Carter-Green-Redd and Pride Cruise Lines.
Green and Carter were not just minor partners; they held senior positions as president and vice president in both organizations. They were responsible for making or approving most of the critical decisions during the short lives of both companies. Though they may have been minor shareholders during the bankruptcies, they played a vital role in the operations of the companies leading up to the Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 filings.
Green claimed that neither he nor Carter had ever been denied or lost a casino operating license.
Again, in 1993, Green and Carter were minority investors in Gulfside Casino, Inc.’s Copa Casino in Gulfport, Mississippi, but they had been brought on to run it. Because of complaints about the 1989 Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Carter and Green were not able to gain approval to hold an interest in a gaming license. It would have taken months for the understaffed Mississippi Gaming Commission to complete the investigation required for Carter and Green. This posed a severe threat to the opening of the Copa.
To get past that and to enable the licensing of the Copa, the McDonald family (the majority owner of Gulfside Casino, Inc.) bought Carter and Green out for $3.5 million each.
That resolution
As far as I can see, without the support of the county, this resolution is meaningless.
A more effective resolution would:
- request the Racing Commission to initiate an application period and swiftly grant a license, and
- state that Russellville would be an ideal location for the licensee to conduct business.
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Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this. I also want to express appreciation for the recent work of the council and the mayor. Though I live in the county, Russellville is the county seat and its progress affects the rest of the county. I am also an administrator of the Pope County Majority Facebook group, where we publish and share many posts and pictures related to Russellville and the county.
Mike Goad
Rural Pope County
