The Saracen Casino Resort is a casino currently being constructed by the Quapaw Nation in Pine Bluffs, Arkansas. In late June, it was announced that the tribe was planning on creating an annex to the casino, with over 300 electronic games, a minim version of the casino. The Saracen Casino Annex was set to open later this week but ended up hosting a surprise soft opening on Friday.

Early Sneak Peak:

On Friday, the Saracen Casino Annex opened at 6pm, which was four days before the planned grand opening, which was on the schedule for tomorrow. The annex is 15,000 square feet in size and connected to the Saracen Q Store, which was the former home to the Southern Edge Truck Stop.

The property offers a full service bar along with 300 slot games. The facility is said to be a preview as to what will be offered at the larger Saracen Casino, which will be 80,000 square feet in size and include a 13-floor hotel with 300 guest rooms.

According to Arkansasonline.com…

Saracen spokesman, Carlton Saffa, commented on the soft opening by stating: “This is our surprise for the community. This is our 100-day casino. We started it 100 days ago and here we are, open for business.”

Change of Plans:

According to Saffa, the Friday night soft opening in Pine Bluff was set to be simply an invite-only affair. However, because interest was so high, the plan was changed to make the property open to everyone. Word spread quickly via social media and by the opening time, the venue had a full parking lot and guests were waiting in line to get in.

The annex and Q Store employ just over 230 employees, around 400 individuals are working in total with the construction of the main resort underway. Eventually, the work force of the construction site will be increased to around 1,000 people. Over 1,100 permanent positions are expected once the project is completed.