It’s official. A high-dollar battle is underway over a proposed constitutional amendment to strip the Arkansas Constitution of authorization of a casino in Pope County.

Amendment 100, passed in 2018, authorized casinos in four places and three are now in operation — in West Memphis, Pine Bluff and Hot Springs. The provision for a Pope County permit remains in a prolonged court and regulatory battle, with the Cherokee Nation currently holding a permit to open there if the pending litigation ends in its favor.

Advertisement

In the meanwhile, local opposition to a casino in the county has never faded. A committee, Fair Play for Arkansas, was formed to repeal the amendment. It was a grassroots effort but got a boost recently when the Choctaw Nation, like the Cherokee Nationa a casino operator in Oklahoma, put $125,000 into Fair Play to pay canvassers to get the proposal on the ballot in November.

Today, the Cherokee casino forces fired back with this release:

Advertisement

Little Rock Attorneys Dustin McDaniel and David Couch today announced the creation of a ballot question committee – Arkansas Tourism Alliance – to oppose efforts by Fair Play for Arkansas to amend the Arkansas Constitution and eliminate the Pope County casino license. The first campaign finance report filed today shows more than $1 million in cash on hand. [All $1.1 million from the Cherokee Nation,]

In 2018, Arkansans voted to keep tax and tourism dollars in the state, create billions of dollars in economic development, and generate thousands of jobs by authorizing casinos to be built in Crittenden County (West Memphis), Jefferson County (Pine Bluff), Garland County (Hot Springs) and Pope County (Russellville). Both McDaniel and Couch were instrumental in the drafting and passage of Amendment 100. Today, three of four casinos are operational, and expansions planned and underway in Hot Springs, West Memphis and Pine Bluff demonstrate how fast this industry is expected to grow. Despite the pandemic, more than $160 million in tax revenue was generated between April 2019 and January 2022.

Construction on the state’s fourth casino is expected to begin this summer in Russellville despite delays due to litigation. Fair Play for Arkansas was formed to eliminate the Pope County casino license and is funded entirely by an out-of-state casino operator that was unsuccessful in its own pursuit of the license.

“Arkansans will see right through Fair Play for Arkansas’ greedy efforts to eliminate 1,200 good[1]paying jobs and take tourism dollars of our state,” said McDaniel. “Fair Play for Arkansas is merely a front for those who would rather see billions of dollars go to Oklahoma and not Arkansas.”

The primary mission of the Arkansas Tourism Alliance is to educate voters on the true purpose and effect of Fair Play Arkansas and to encourage voters to decline to sign its petition. To learn more about the Arkansas Tourism Alliance, visit www.arkansastourismalliance.com.

I expect the money also will be used to look over petitions VERY carefully. That’s a traditional means to beat ballot initiatives, keep them from reaching the ballot.