When the doors opened on Oaklawn’s 2022-2023 racing season Dec. 9, the stream of patrons flowed in familiar channels throughout the historic racetrack. Carried by the tides of tradition, fans picked up racing forms, viewed the mounts at the indoor paddock and scooped up thousands of signature corned beef sandwiches, engaging in annual rites more than 100 years in the making.
But as the gates flew wide on the first race, it was clear that for all the history and tradition draping the edges, an incomparable new vista had come into focus. At the first turn, a seven-story, 200-room hotel, opened in April 2021, loomed trackside. Just beyond that lies the yawning casino floor, expanded as part of the $100 million addition, where dealers, dice and slots now operate 24/7.
Oaklawn, like its competitors, has wasted no time leveraging the new freedoms brought in 2018 when voters finally removed the last remaining barriers between the public and live casino gaming. But this year, ensconced in shiny new amenities, armed with brand-new mobile sports wagering and with the pandemic behind them, Arkansas casinos are about to see just what the industry can really do.
The thought that gaming is only starting to find its gear is a startling one, given the revenue (and various taxes) generated thus far by the state’s three casinos, not to mention thousands of jobs and the substantial trickle-down spending by tens of thousands of guests. From the Delta to the Spa City and from the shadow of Memphis to the shores of the River Valley, the future has never looked brighter for the industry in Arkansas.
The Upstart
When Saracen Casino planted its stake in Jefferson County, it did so without the name recognition Oaklawn and Southland had forged over generations. It also lacked the advantages of a major population center on its back doorstep or of being located in the state’s tourism epicenter. Quite the contrary, the casino opened in a community tourists rarely visited, let alone built a weekend or vacation around.
And yet, none of those factors seems to have stunted the company’s performance much. If anything, it has emboldened Saracen with an underdog spirit, the plucky contender ready to stand toe-to-toe with all entertainment comers, building the community right along with it.
“When you come to Saracen, you are going to experience a business that’s identity is casino gaming, period. That’s who we are,” said Carlton Saffa, chief market officer. “We believe in producing a quality casino product. That’s our core. We’ve tried, and I think successfully, to introduce ourselves as a Vegas-style experience.
“There’s no greater compliment than the fact someone’s driving an hour and a half or two hours, literally passing casinos, to come play at your facility. And when you look at the macro data, you see the gaming revenue in central Arkansas has basically doubled since we opened. That says to me we’ve found something that was missing in this market. There was an unmet need and we are meeting it.”
Saracen has scored notable first-to-markets, particularly on the amenities side. The on-site Red Oak Steakhouse has been a star attraction since it opened, challenging other properties to compete with its high-end fare. This has helped compensate for Saracen lagging behind the competition in brick-and-mortar, something Saffa blames on pandemic-related issues. While for some, this only pads the casino’s diamond-in-the-rough appeal, management is eager to make up ground on facilities and curb appeal.
“I will make no secret of the fact that gaming is not immune to COVID,” Saffa said. “Every other month has had some form of COVID limitation, COVID spike. Between that and $4 gasoline, we’ve seen weird times. We’ve seen all kinds of weird times. In fact, 80% of our time open has been under a weird time.
“In the 26 months we’ve been open, we believe — and we’re not even sure because we don’t have enough data — but we’ve seen what we believe are probably four to five months at most of normal operating conditions.”
As of November, Saracen had the second-highest number of slots, but was virtually tied with Oaklawn in total cash spun both in November and year to date. The property was also well behind the field in on-premises retail sport betting. The casino saw $750,000 in November retail sports handle, a total three and four times lower than at Oaklawn and Southland, respectively.
A closer look, however, shows Saracen’s emerging pockets of strength such as table play, where it ranked second, and particularly in mobile sports betting. Per the state’s monthly Casino Gaming Section/Expanded Games of Skill report, the casino grew its monthly mobile sports handle over six months to a peak of $15.5 million in November, a number almost twice that of the other two casinos combined. Given that, it doesn’t take much to see the potential once the hotel and conference space are completed.
“Our plans at this point are to go vertical with the hotel tower in the first quarter [of 2023],” Saffa said. “That hotel expects to be 320-plus rooms, and we’re looking at an event space that can hold up to 1,600 people. That space will feature a permanent stage, so we can do large, big-name acts all the way to converting the space to conventions or meetings.”
In many ways, the grit and optimism of Saracen leadership reflects the resilient spirit of Pine Bluff itself. Saffa said the property is proud to play a role in the community reclaiming some of its lost luster.
“In Pine Buff, the cards that have been coming out of the shoe have been kind of rough for about a generation,” he said. “But we’ve got incredible leaders here who I think are making the most of situations that are occurring in areas all over the South, probably nowhere more vividly than in Pine Bluff.
“We’re bringing 150,000 people a month through our doors. Many of those people had written off Pine Bluff, and I’m proud to say we gave them a reason to come back. There are towns all over the state that are drying up that would jump at the chance for people to come visit their town once again, and I’m glad that it’s working here with Saracen.”
The Powerhouse
Southland Casino Hotel has quickly sprinted to the forefront of Arkansas casinos. On nearly every measurement, the West Memphis property is well ahead of the competition, spinning $274 million in slots in November alone, about double that of either Oaklawn or Saracen. What’s more, its November retail sportsbook handle of $3.1 million and $2.9 million in live tables net win about equaled the other two properties combined, aided greatly by Memphis tourists who find their way across the river.
But with a new hotel and expanded casino just opened, Southland is hoping to become a destination all its own. The company recently celebrated completion of its $320 million expansion, including a new 300-room, 20-story hotel and boosting the gaming floor to 113,000 square feet, 50 live tables and 2,400 slot machines.
“We are not where we want to be at this time; I think the future of Southland is still a lot brighter,” said Osi Imomoh, general manager. “Currently, our clientele is very local. We’ve been here a long time, so it’s generated by name recognition. This area knows who we are.
“The addition of this new facility will be how we bring more people to the community of West Memphis, and I think that’s the most exciting part about it. We’re uniquely prepared with this facility, the world-class restaurants we’ve put into this building and the team we’ve assembled.”
Imomoh said digital technology also figures to play a major role in bringing visitors to Southland’s newly constructed property.
“We launched our Southland Lucky North mobile app, which is an all-encompassing app for patrons to see all their gaming offerings, dining and hotel,” he said. “We also have a mobile sports betting app statewide called Betly. In addition, we are seeing more adaptation of cashless technology, such as in our steakhouse. We have seen some barriers to that in other outlets, but I think it’s coming along.
“Technology is ever-changing, right? And right now, the mobile app and cashless technology are the two biggest things going forward.”
This isn’t Imomoh’s first spin in Crittenden County; he served here a decade ago as Southland’s food and beverage director. He returns to usher the nearly 70-year-old venue into becoming a regional destination without alienating longtime regulars.
“I still see people here from 10 years ago,” he said. “When we talk about our changing clientele, I preface that by saying we’re not looking to change guests, we’re looking to add guests. There’s something here for everyone.
“When you look at this part of the state, it doesn’t always get the best rap. The more people we can get to see West Memphis differently, not only do we do better, but the gas stations and other businesses in town also do better.”
Imomoh’s “We’re all in this together,” spiel might be written off as tired public relations pap except for the company’s impressive record of putting money where its mission is in the community. While most casinos kick in to local causes at some level, Southland’s record of philanthropy has been consistent and extensive.
In addition to direct contributions to nonprofits and supporting the city and state through tax receipts, the property’s parent company, Delaware North, launched ALL IN for Stronger Communities to take a more coordinated and proactive approach to addressing needs within the area itself.
“We do a needs assessment of the community and also the region,” said Neki Catron, community engagement manager, who was hired specifically to manage the program. “We look at what’s needed and how we can provide accessibility of resources from Memphis, Little Rock, Jonesboro, all over this region.
“Most people would be really surprised at what issues we’re looking at, like food deserts. We look at areas like health resources, we look at the homeless environment. We put a lot of backing behind initiatives most people don’t realize we support.”
Over the past two years, Southland’s partnership with the Midsouth Food Bank resulted in collecting more than 600,000 pounds of food for the local area, Catron said. The company also worked with East Arkansas Health Center to develop an OB-GYN clinic staffed daily, the only one in the county. Not exactly standard casino billboard material, but an essential part of Southland’s culture, she said.
“The thing is, we are in this community, and even though every single person we invest in may not come inside our facility, we want to make sure we are still a part of that community,” Catron said. “We do things just because they’re the right things to do. That’s what corporate social responsibility is about.”
The Stalwart
For nearly 120 years, Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort has welcomed guests from all corners of the country. Most of that time, the attraction was horse racing, but as each new chapter of Arkansas wagering unfolded – from simulcast racing to games of skill to present day – Oaklawn has kept up with the times.
So, it should come as no surprise that even with its new hotel and expanded casino barely broken in, property leadership is already looking for what’s next.
“At Oaklawn, we always want to embrace change,” said Wayne Smith, general manager. “We just opened up a brand-new state-of-the-art sports bar with Top Golf, ax throwing, shuffleboard and nearly 100 TVs. We’ve added that amenity as all-ages as well, so you don’t have to go to the casino. We have a luxury spa. We have an event center that does banquets and group events and also will do concerts.
“And we have restaurants that, in my opinion, are second to none in Arkansas. Oaklawn has not always been known as a culinary destination. We’ve got phenomenal chefs now and a new executive chef. So, our culinary aspect is going to be a focus for us in the coming 12 to 24 months.”
Smith said such additions are not just for the sake of filling up square footage, but calculated business decisions to allow Oaklawn to remain competitive. In November, Oaklawn ranked second or third among Arkansas properties across various gaming categories. The company’s big winner of late is its mobile sports wagering. While rolled out much later than its competitors, action quickly reached par with other casinos. Per the CGS/EGS report, sports handle jumped from about $800,000 in September 2022, its first month, to $2.7 million in November.
Such numbers illustrate that while Oaklawn is certainly holding its own, the competitive landscape is a far cry from the decades when the property had a built-in exclusivity – live thoroughbred racing – now just one attraction among many.
“There’s competition there,” Smith said. “We’re very fortunate to have horse racing in Arkansas, but regionally, you’ve got Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Kentucky all running horse racing at the same time we are. Then, when you look at casinos, we have one an hour or so away from us, and there’s probably 20-plus casinos within a four-hour drive of this property. So, we compete very heavily in the casino space too.”
For everything that Oaklawn has done to keep up with the Joneses, it still holds some inherent advantages the competition can’t match. Oaklawn enjoys the kind of instant name recognition only a century-plus in business can create and anchors the many other attractions within arm’s reach in Hot Springs, epicenter of the state’s tourism.
“What we’ve been able to do is position ourselves as a property that can garner a regional destination for people who like to travel, who like to drive,” Smith said. “When you look at the drive time from Hot Springs to Dallas, to Memphis, to Nashville, to Tulsa, Oklahoma City or Shreveport, we’re four to five hours max from anybody. We’re finding that our travel patterns now are leaning more and more towards the driving position, particularly regionally.
“Then, when you have a state like Arkansas, which has such natural beauty, and you have a town like Hot Springs that is the number one tourist attraction in the state of Arkansas, the opportunity is there for us to garner a different clientele than we’ve had in the past. We have already seen some nice growth regionally over the last 12 months since we’ve had our resort fully open.”
Despite everything that’s new, Oaklawn still retains a feeling of familiarity, something Smith chalks up to its lineage of family ownership dating back to 1916. With more places than ever to place a bet – all of them offering essentially the same odds and options – it’s another way the Arkansas landmark is setting itself apart.
“Our ownership is highly unusual in today’s world; from Oklahoma to Mississippi to Louisiana, there might be a single tribe that owns a property, but I don’t know of a single owner in our region,” Smith said. “It takes a lot of guts for somebody to want to do that and support it the way that our ownership does with racing number one. The racetrack is the reason why Oaklawn is here; it’s the reason why the casino and the resort are here.
“Quite honestly, we are very unique. It’s a model that isn’t copied much around the country, if at all, particularly with just one site. But without invested ownership it just would never work. We’re very, very fortunate to have that type of ownership here.”
The Contender
The forthcoming $225 million Legends Resort and Casino in Pope County will change the literal and figurative landscape of the River Valley. Boasting 200 hotel rooms, 50,000 square feet of gaming, a 15,000-square-foot event center and an outdoor music venue to hold 5,000, the project will create 1,000 jobs and generate untold millions in tax revenue and direct contributions to local nonprofits. The company forecasts an overall economic impact for the state of more than $5 billion during the property’s first 10 years.
But in the burgeoning arms race found throughout the state’s casinos, those facts alone are not that unique. What is noteworthy is the Legends project is finally being built at all following years of legal wrangling in a dizzying saga where millions were spent and billions hung in the balance.
Chuck Garrett, CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses, is happy to be at the end of such an ordeal but he still can’t quite wring the weariness out of his voice discussing the three years it took to get here without a single shovelful of dirt yet turned.
“If you’re asking if I see a silver lining to all that, the short answer is no,” he said. “If I could choose to have not had a delay and had a straight line to develop and open the resort, I would have preferred that.”
As grueling as the litany of (mostly resolved) legal challenges has been, it has done nothing to temper CNB’s optimism about Legends. Garrett said from the beginning, the company was only interested in Pope County, noting its location would dovetail with existing CNB properties in Oklahoma.
“We were exclusively focused on Russellville for several reasons,” he said. “One was the proximity to Interstate 40, along which we have two other properties. That, we felt like, was a good corridor for us strategically to grow.
“Secondly, Cherokee Nation has a historic connection to Pope County dating back to the mid-1800s. There are some cultural connections that were of interest to us to pursue as part of our overall tourism effort.”
The Russellville property anchors an exciting new chapter in the history of CNB, one where the company is actively growing from a clutch of 10 casinos in one state to a regional operator. In addition to building Legends, CNB has also purchased the Gold Strike property in Tunica, Mississippi.
Garrett said this growth reflects trends in the gaming industry as a whole, moving from one or two national hotspots dominated by national brands to a network of regional players providing more hands-on management and localized oversight.
“What you’re seeing are states that haven’t historically had legal gaming recognizing the tremendous economic impact that gaming can have from employment and other economic factors,” he said. “You’re seeing more and more states embrace that. That has resulted in a fractured market and created some opportunities for operators like us.
“We’re closer to the consumer in ways that national and international gaming companies aren’t. I think it’s created some really interesting opportunities for us and others that have history in those types of markets.”
Garrett said patrons of the Russellville property will notice right away how this localized strategy is expressed in the architecture and décor of the place.
“What we have tried to do is focus our branding on the consumer who is local, who is present there in that geographic area,” he said. “For example, Cherokee Casino within the Cherokee Nation, which is logical. Hard Rock, which is in Tulsa, is our flagship property and is a more urban destination.
“Legends, we felt like, was an interesting opportunity to focus on the unique aspects of Arkansas and the history of Arkansas. You’ll see references to famous athletes, famous musicians and other individuals who have made an impact, who originated from Arkansas. Some of the architectural features will be a nod to the beautiful Arkansas landscape. You’ll see water, you’ll see some very unique stone features and some other aspects that look and feel like Arkansas.”
With the one final legal action dragging at the project’s hem winding down, Legends Resort and Casino is primed to begin construction soon. The entire project will be built in one phase by Arkansas-based CDI Contractors and take 18 to 24 months to complete. Talking about it, Garrett’s tone perks up.
“You’re going to see a beautiful, cutting-edge facility that’s going to have a heck of an economic impact in the community,” he said. “Some guests will come just for entertainment and some will come to game. We welcome them all.”
READ ALSO: If These Walls Could Talk: Club 1836
