Proposed Washington County casino would be run by Cherokee Nation

Arkansas Wins in 2016, a ballot question committee formed to support the proposed constitutional amendment, said the company owned by the Cherokee Nation will operate a casino, hotel and entertainment venue in Washington County if the measure makes the ballot and receives voter approval.

The proposal also would allow casinos to operate in Boone and Miller counties.

Cherokee Nation Entertainment owns and operates nine casinos in Oklahoma, including its flagship property, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, and eight casinos in Roland, Sallisaw, West Siloam Springs, Tahlequah, Fort Gibson, Claremore, South Coffeyville and Ramona. A tenth is under construction near Grove.

Cherokee Nation Entertainment would not seek tribal land trust status for the project in Arkansas, according to the release.
Under the proposal, the casino would be subject to regulation by a five-member state gaming commission and would pay taxes on net gaming receipts of 18 percent to the state, 0.5 percent to Washington County and 1.5 percent to the city in which it is located.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge approved the wording of the proposal earlier this month, clearing the way for supporters to begin collecting the 84,859 signatures of registered Arkansas voters needed to place the measure on the ballot.