A casino in Pine Bluff held a surprise "soft opening," four days before its planned grand opening.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the Oklahoma-based Quapaw Nation's Saracen Casino Annex opened at 6 p.m. Friday with about 300 slot machines and a full service bar.
Saracen Casino Resort spokesman Carlton Saffa said the facility is a preview of the 80,000-square-foot casino that will have a 13-floor hotel, 300-room hotel across the street by the end of next year. Saffa said the soft opening was planned to be by-invitation only, but those plans were changed because of high interest.
The Arkansas Racing Commission in June approved the license for the casino after Arkansas voters last year approved a constitutional amendment legalizing casino gambling in four counties.