The great casino saga of Pope County rolls on. The group, Local Voters in Charge, on Friday submitted signatures to the state attorney general’s office to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot repealing the casino license recently awarded to the Cherokee Nation for a planned casino in Russellville.
Arkansas voters in 2018 approved an amendment to allow casino gambling in four Arkansas counties, including Pope. Since then, the Cherokee Nation and others have been active in their pursuits of a license to build and operate a casino in Russellville. After years of legal wrangling, the Arkansas Racing Commission awarded the license to the Cherokee Nation in late June.
In February, Local Voters in Charge was created to raise support for revising the casino amendment to exclude Pope County. On Friday, it submitted the required number of signatures necessary to have its proposed revision to the amendment placed on the ballot if certified by state Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office.
Another group, Investing in Arkansas, supports the expansion of casino gambling in Pope County and on Friday issued the following statement from group vice chairman Natalie Ghidotti, owner of the prominent Little Rock public relations firm Ghidotti.
“While sufficient signatures may have been turned in, this group — solely backed by a rejected out-of-state casino operator, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma — has spent the last several months lying to Arkansans about the true intent of this ballot initiative.
“This small group wants you to believe their efforts are about a local vote, but in reality, it is about revoking the casino license from Pope County — a license awarded just last week by the state of Arkansas to Cherokee Nation Entertainment.
“Arkansas voters approved Amendment 100 in 2018, and a majority of Pope County voters still stand by that decision. This small group, funded by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is trying to rob Arkansans of thousands of jobs and shut down what will be historic economic growth for the community, region and state.”
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