JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ark — It's been just months since Issue 4 passed in Nov. 2018, and The Quapaw Tribe is looking to get a casino up in Jefferson County by the end of 2019.
The $350 million "Saracen Casino Resort" will bring 1,000 new jobs -- enough to put the casino among the county's top five employers.
Saracen would pay taxes that go to the state, the Racing Commission and purses for live racing at Oaklawn and Southland. The remaining dollars are split between Pine Bluff, 19.5 percent, and Jefferson County, 8 percent.
Work is already underway and the casino is located on the south-east corner of the Martha Mitchell Expressway and U.S. 63-79 — east of The Pines Mall.
The 70,000- to 80,000-SF casino portion of the development could be open before the end of the year. The 350-room hotel, conference space, entertainment venue, spa and restaurants would follow in 2020.
The project will incorporate museums devoted to the history of the blues, Native Americans and African-Americans in the Jefferson County area.