LITTLE ROCK - An Arkansas judge denied a casino's motion for contempt alleging that a state commission did not follow its own rules and issue the company a casino license within 30 days of the judge's previous ruling.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox's Thursday ruling did not approve Gulfside Casino Resort's contempt request against the Racing Commission. But he ruled that Gulfside's competitor, Legends Resort and Casino LLC, a limited liability company by Cherokee Nation Businesses, does not qualify for the Pope County license, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
"We appreciate the court for considering all pending motions to bring this litigation to a close," Lucas Rowan, Gulfside attorney, said after the hearing. "As the majority of commissioners recently recognized, Gulfside is the clear choice for Russellville, Pope County and Arkansas."
Fox had validated endorsement letters for Gulfside from former local officials who were no longer in office when the company applied last year for the license, which are required of applicants under a 2018 constitutional amendment legalizing casino gambling in Arkansas.
Fox said his previous ruling on March 24 on endorsements was based on the law, but the commission's 30-day requirement to issue a license is out of his jurisdiction.
Gulfside and the Oklahoma-based company were the last two applicants standing after the five applicants were rejected, including them. The commission ruled that none met the its rule for local endorsements. In response, Gulfside sued them.
Gulfside was the only one of the original applicants to include local endorsements. The amendment does not say when the endorsements have to be dated or submitted.
After the Pope County Quorum Court and Pope County county judge Ben Cross endorsed Cherokee Nation, they resubmitted their application.
Last month, the commission scored both applicants, giving total scores of 637 for Gulfside and 572 for Cherokee Nation, a 65 point difference. Cherokee Nation alleged that one of the commission's members Butch Rice was biased. He awarded 100 points for Gulfside and 29 points for Cherokee Nation, a 71 point difference.
Rice contended that he scored fairly, but the commission found that he was biased.
Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration, which oversees the Racing Commission, told the newspaper that the 30-day clock for granting the Pope County license began June 18 -- when the commission scored the applications.