After several sneak peek soft openings last week, today is the grand opening of the Saracen Casino Resort.
We can't really say it's been long-awaited, because the whole process has gone off quickly and without a hitch.
It all came to pass thanks to the passage of Amendment 100, which was approved by voters in November 2018 and allowed the state to issue licenses for four casinos.
Two of them were already established, with one at Oaklawn Racing Casino in Hot Springs and one at Southland Casino in West Memphis. Those entities were allowed to expand their facilities into full-fledged casinos.
The passage of the amendment also allowed a casino in Jefferson County and one in Pope County. The one here in Pine Bluff, as we noted above, is opening today. The one in Pope County just recently was awarded to a casino company, after months and months of legal battles, but even now, a competing casino has filed a lawsuit against the winning company. The Pope County residents must look at Jefferson County and wonder in amazement how far they have not come in getting a casino built. The sound of a jackpot paying off is something they will not hear for awhile yet.
The one here, as a reporter noted, still has the look of something that's still a bit under construction, at least on the outside, but that inside, it could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anything one might find in Las Vegas.
The $350 million facility has 80,000 square feet, with 2,000 slot machines, 36 table games, a sports betting room, a poker room and numerous eating venues that, according to casino officials, will rival any restaurant in the state and beyond.
Last week, the media got a peek inside at an event that also included numerous state and local officials, including Gov. Asa Hutchinson. What he said struck us, in that he could have been giving voice to a lot of people in this area and around the state who were not -- and maybe still aren't -- sold on the idea of adding casinos to the state's landscape. He had been against Amendment 100 when it was put before voters, but even he could not dismiss the investment that had been made in Pine Bluff and the jobs it had created, including about a thousand when construction was going on.
"You cannot deny the need for 700 permanent jobs right here in Pine Bluff," he told the VIP gathering. "People are excited about filling these jobs. The construction costs, the investment, the side businesses and the supply chain will all add to the economic impact in Pine Bluff, and I know they are excited about that here. That's why I'm here, to share in that new opportunity for Pine Bluff to experience an economic renaissance."
And certainly, the Quapaw Nation has already been a good neighbor in the community, footing the bill for a new fire, police and emergency services facility not far from the casino itself.
This new casino is actually the second one that's opened here. The first was the annex, which moved into and then renovated what had been a truck stop. That facility opened about a year ago and had 15,000 square feet of space and 300 slot machines. Again, that roll out, which took place in a quick 100 days, happened without any problem. Sorry to pile on, Pope County!
So today, the ribbon will be cut and the public will be invited in. We wish the casino operation the very best, and we hope its success adds to Pine Bluff and rubs off on Pine Bluff in that it is the catalyst for future investments into the city's infrastructure.
Fortunately, the city can not only look with pride at the opening of a top-notch casino, which will be followed by the construction of a hotel, but also at the new library that is about to open, three new county buildings that have had their own groundbreaking ceremony, a new children's hospital that is under construction, and a state-of-the-art aquatic center that is open for business.
It's enough to make a Pine Bluffian sit a little taller in the saddle. That's not something we've had much experience doing of late, but we're certainly looking forward to learning how.