Five of the half-dozen applicants for casino gaming licenses in Arkansas went home rejected following a highly-anticipated meeting Thursday that put the rare spotlight on the Arkansas Racing Commission.

At that same 90-minute meeting, the seven-person commission also approved a lone proposal by the Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma to immediately begin construction on a $215 million hotel and casino complex that Jefferson County officials said will boost the region’s economic development efforts.

Both of those actions took place during the state’s gaming regulators monthly meeting held before a standing room-only crowd at the ARC boardroom just west of the State Capitol complex. ARC Attorney Byron Freeland began the discussion with the consideration of the gaming licenses for Pope County that were submitted ahead of the commission’s May 31 deadline.     MORE