Arkansas Welcomes Expanded Gambling, Announces $350M Casino Project

Pine Bluff’s Saracen Casino Resort is getting ready for the beginning of $350 million expansion work that will see an entirely new casino built. This coincides with Arkansas’ casino market expansion and legislation ed that will permit more gambling verticals as well as sports betting.

Saracen Casino Resort will contain a casino, a convention center, 300 hotel rooms, restaurants and permanent employment for over 1,000 local residents.

Sort of a Homecoming

Quapaw Tribe’s Downstream Development Authority will be in charge of the casino…

….and they were the only entity that placed a bid for a venue in Jefferson County. This county is one of four in Arkansas that were given the green light for construction of a new casino. Hot Springs and West Memphis are the second and the third, while the location of fourth is yet to be determined.

John L. Berrey, DDA’s , Quapaw Nation Tribe and Saracen Casino Development chairman, says:

“This reminds me of how excited and proud we were 12 years ago breaking ground for Downstream, and what that meant for Joplin and the surrounding region. Saracen Casino will be a lot like Downstream in of style, design and luxury, and in what we think it will do for Pine Bluff. But also, building Saracen Casino is a homecoming for the Quapaw people. That’s where we lived. It is where the great Chief Saracen is buried. So this is very special for us.”

Opening Slated For Next Summer

The opening of the new casino – provided that all goes according to plan – is scheduled for June 2020…

…while other non-casino amenities will arrive by the end of 2020. Saracen will, however, begin the campaign enticing locals to begin gambling once it opens a convenience store that will offer slot machines.

The ceremony was attended by Lieutenant Governor, Tim Griffin, Attorney General, Leslie Rutledge and Quapaw Tribe . The entire property could provide much needed betterment for the area as it’s called a game-changer by the local officials. Pine Bluff and nearby areas have a higher level of poverty compared to some other areas.

Pope County was going to be the said fourth county in which a casino would be built…

…as it was approved in last year’s vote. However, local residents Arkansas Racing Commission which is a local gambling regulator, won’t approve any license request for this county.

Sports Betting Up and Running

In July, Arkansas became the ninth US state to launch regulated sports betting with the first ceremonial wager placed at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort.

The sportsbook is powered by SBTech…

…whose CEO, Richard Carter, said:

“We are rapidly becoming the supplier of choice for omni-channel sportsbook platform software in regulated and newly regulating US states, as well as major global regulated markets for tier one operators and lotteries.

We’re delighted that Oakland selected SBTech to power their sportsbook in partnership with Churchill Downs and launch the state’s first sports wager, and we look forward to extending that to other products and channels in the near future.”

Source:

“Arkansas breaks ground on new $350-million casino”, Erik Gibbs, calvinayre.com, August 7, 2019.