Federal Court Upholds Arkansas Referendum Blocking Legends Casino in Russellville
Posted on: August 30, 2025, 05:25h.
Last updated on: August 29, 2025, 03:26h.
- Another court decision has gone against a casino in Pope County
- A federal judge says an Arkansas referendum in 2024 was legitimate
- The Cherokee Nation could appeal
A federal judge says a statewide amendment to the Arkansas Constitution approved last November was legally binding and did not violate a commercial gaming company’s rights under the United States Constitution.
Last November, Arkansas voters passed Issue 2 with 56% support, an amendment to the state constitution that said the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) can only consider commercial casino licenses for counties where local referendums field majority support for slot machines, table games, and sports betting. Issue 2 additionally repealed the gaming license that ARC awarded to Cherokee Nation Entertainment in 2024. CNE had planned to build a $325 million destination called Legends Resort & Casino in Russellville.
CNE, a subsidiary of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma’s commercial conglomerate, Cherokee Nation Businesses, sued the state of Arkansas and the Racing Commission on allegations that Issue 2 violated its rights under the U.S. Constitution.
In an order signed Aug. 28, Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. in Arkansas’ Eastern District Court ruled in favor of the state and dismissed the Cherokees’ claims that Issue 2 “impermissibly” interfered with its Economic Development Agreement it previously executed with Pope County. Marshall also said CNE’s claim that its “Bill of Attainder Clause” rights under the U.S. Constitution were unjust because Issue 2 did not call out the Cherokees by name, but only “any casino license issued for Pope County.”
“Even if [Issue 2] did single out CNE, it doesn’t punish the Cherokee under the historical test for a bill of attainder,” Marshall wrote.
Long Backstory
During the 2018 election, Arkansas voters authorized a casino in each of the counties of Pope, Crittenden, Garland, and Jefferson. However, Pope was one of only 11 counties among the 64 that did not vote in favor of allowing casinos to come to the Razorback State.
Jefferson partnered with the Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma to open Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff. The racinos in Crittenden and Garland — Southland and Oaklawn — transitioned into full-fledged casinos.
Pope County was the lone county with a competitive bid, as an entity called Gulfside Casino Partnership, based in Mississippi, sought the opportunity to build a casino in Russellville. Endless legal wranglings, initiated by ARC itself when a commissioner was found to have had a bias in his grading of the competing proposals, tabled the gaming license for years.
A subsequent legal challenge came over how ARC qualified bids, and whether a former county judge’s support for a casino carried the same weight as the sitting judge. It was ultimately decided, with the assistance of the Arkansas attorney general’s office, that the Cherokees were the only qualified bid, as it had the support of both Pope County Judge Ben Cross and a majority of the Pope County Quorum Court.
A rival tribe of the Cherokees — the Choctaw Nation — subsequently funded Issue 4 to repeal the Pope County license. The Choctaws operate tribal casinos just across the state line in Oklahoma and rely strongly on the northwest Arkansas market.
$60M Loss
The Cherokees say they’ve spent $60 million on the Arkansas casino fight, including the two referendum campaigns. The investment seems like a loser, though the Nation is not yet ready to fold.
We are reviewing all aspects of the judge’s ruling and considering next steps in the legal process,” said Allison Lowe Burum, a spokesperson for Cherokee Nation Businesses.
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