Mississippi’s casinos watching Arkansas gaming initiative

Matt Moore

Monday, Oct. 23, 2000 | 4:19 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi casinos executives don't expect Arkansas voters to approve casino gambling next month.

Even so, the industry is keeping close watch on a proposed amendment that would open up portions of that state to games of chance.

If Arkansas voters pass the measure Nov. 7, Mississippi casinos now operating in Tunica County and Lula, which already take $300 million annually from Arkansas gamblers, and to the south in Greenville, could face stiff competition.

The initiative, which has failed three times before, would allow casino gaming in six counties - Boone, Crittenden, Garland, Miller, Pulaski and Sebastian. Most of them border Mississippi.

Proponents of the amendment say it would allow the Arkansas Casino Corp. to build casinos, authorize a state lottery, and, in a way similar to what is being done in Mississippi, legalize charitable bingo.

Currently, Arkansas only permits pari-mutuel wagering at a horse track in Hot Springs and a greyhound park in West Memphis.

Amendment backers said the proposal would help rid the state of a sales tax on groceries and would fund college scholarships for all high school graduates in Arkansas.

For Mississippi's gaming industry, approval could have an immediate impact on Tunica's gambling barges. With the Mississippi Delta's low population, the casinos rely heavily on visitors from across the Mississippi River.

At Sam's Town, Ronda McCloud said officials with her company have kept tabs on the amendment and think passage is doubtful.

"We generally have an attitude of live and let live," said McCloud, a Sam's Town spokeswoman. "Having watched it in the past it doesn't look like it's going to pass."

The initiative has failed three times since 1990, according to Arkansas election records.

In 1990 and 1994, the issue was taken off statewide ballots because of legal challenges. A 1996 vote failed, polling just 39 percent of the votes needed for passage.

The latest effort, which is being paid for by the private Arkansas Casino Corp., has only a 40 percent chance of passing, opponents say.

Bobby May, president of the corporation said internal polling showed that 50 percent of Arkansas voters favor the measure, while just 46 percent oppose it.

Glen Hooks, who manages the campaign for the amendment, said it is poised to pass, despite concerns Mississippi gaming interests may work to block it.

"We have anticipated it certainly because they were involved in it the last time it was on the ballot," Hooks said. "We wouldn't be surprised to see a fair amount of opposition from other border gaming states."

There is no law prohibiting other companies from supporting the amendment, or lobbying against it.

That opposition in Mississippi is welcome at the Arkansas Committee for Ethics Policy.

Larry Page, the council's director, said offers of help from Mississippi casinos have come in, but not accepted.

"Had we wanted that help this year, it would be available," he said.

Page's group has raised $50,000 to fight the amendment, much of that through grassroots efforts and by talking to churches, civic groups and others.

Page said offers of help from Mississippi casinos aren't being rebuffed because they represent gambling.

"The first name of our group is 'Arkansas' and there are enough Arkansans that care about this," he said. "We can carry our own water."

Hooks said Mississippi has also provided a model for the way gaming can introduced in a state, too.

"They've done some wonderful things," he said. "All the stereotypes are falling."

Hooks pointed to the estimated 15,000 jobs the casinos could create in the six counties and said it mirrored Mississippi's job growth in the first few years of casino growth.

He said Arkansas voters will see that as a reason to pass the amendment.

"They see a lot of good that was done in Mississippi," he said. "Voter attitudes have changed. All the stereotypes have changed"

Hooks said he's already had inquiries from some casino companies about the possibility of setting up shop in the state, should the amendment pass.

"Including some in Mississippi," he said, but didn't name them.

Lori Hutzler, director of corporate communications at Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. in Biloxi, said her company is examining casino gaming in Arkansas for two reasons.

"Any time a jurisdiction may open we give it a great bit of interest and/or time," she said. "It may cause competition for us or an opportunity to expand within."