A version of this column appeared on June 17, but was confused by a garbled paragraph and the name of the wrong committee submitted for the wrong proposal.
There is still a proposal out there collecting signatures for 16 casinos to be allowed to open in specific Arkansas counties by the Arkansas Racing Commission. This will be on the ballot if, (1) they collect sufficient signatures, (2) pass any lawsuit to the state Supreme Court and will pass if (3) enough votes are gathered for passage.
I'll try to correct the garbled information as best as I can.
First, the Arcade Arkansas proposal was allowing coin operated games of chance all across Arkansas.
Arkansas Arcade has suspended its signature collections due to the virus pandemic and, thus, will not be on this November's ballots.
The Arkansas Wins Inc. proposal to allow additional casinos -- remains active and may be on the November ballot.
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Seldom, this late in the amendment process, have terrible proposals been still alive for Arkansas voters to sample.
Thankfully, this past week, the covid-19 virus outbreak killed off the Arkansas Arcades proposal.
Imagine, if you will, the Arkansas Wins Inc. proposal licensing ANOTHER 16 CASINOS (my emphasis) in Arkansas is still out there collecting signatures.
Stop and dwell on that for another minute.
Already, the state has four operating casinos -- Hot Springs, West Memphis and Pine Bluff. The folks down in Pope County (Russellville) are still at logger-heads over their placement and operation of a facility in a county and town where the voters said "No" to the Amendment years ago.
First, let's say goodbye and good riddance to Arcade Arkansas, a ballot question committee that was seeking to expand coin-operated amusement machines in Arkansas. The group said it will suspend its campaign and not submit signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment. The group cited difficulty in collecting signatures due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The Arkansas Wins Inc. proposal is a measure seeking to approve casinos in Benton, Boone, Chicot, Garland, Greene, Jefferson, Johnson, Miller, Nevada, Sebastian, St. Francis and Washington Counties.
Arkansas Wins Inc., knowing where its bread is buttered, would allow two casinos in Pulaski County, apparently one in Little Rock, the other north of the Arkansas River in North Little Rock, Jacksonville, etc.
And these proposals already had a named applicant -- i.e., the Benton County applicant was G-First Gaming LLC, whoever that is, we do not know.
In Washington County, the applicant is Fayetteville Gaming Associates Inc.
When organizers of the drive were asked by the state's largest newspaper if the owners of the casinos would be revealed, a curt reply of "no comment" was issued.
The Arkansas Wins Inc. proposers did, however, tell exactly where the importance on this measure was being developed -- in the taxing of the money generated from these operations.
The proposal would levy a 13 percent tax on the first $150 million of the net casino receipts. And then, a tax of 20 percent on receipts exceeding $150 million.
Some 55 percent of the tax receipts would go to state general revenues; 15 percent to the county where the games were located; 15 percent to the city where the games were located; or 30 percent to the county, if the casino is not located within a city limits; and the final touch -- the remaining 15 percent would go to all the counties that don't have their own casino. These funds will be allocated on a population basis.
So voters in, say, Madison and Carroll Counties, who will not have a casino in their county, can have an instant incentive to vote casinos into Washington, Benton and Boone Counties?
Well, that sounds fishy to me.
Enough on the gambling issue.
Let's hope this has cleared up this issue.
The proposal for 16 more casinos is still out there, hoping for enough signatures to appear on the November ballot. Then it will be left up to Arkansas' voters.
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Maylon Rice is a former journalist who worked for several northwest Arkansas publications. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.