Arkansas Wins, a casino group that hopes to build casinos in three different Arkansas counties, revealed on Monday that it has delivered almost 50,000 additional signatures needed for the state to put a gambling constitutional amendment on the ballot scheduled for 8th of November.
According to information provided by the company, Arkansas Wins wants to develop casinos in Miller, Washington and Boone counties; all of them are border counties. In case the amendment is included in the ballot and voters give it green light, the Washington County casino would be operated by the Cherokee Nation Entertainment.
Robert Coon, group spokesman, stated that Arkansas Wins managed to deliver more signatures than it needed for verification. Last month it was revealed that the Secretary of State’s office received 63,725 signatures, an amount lower than the minimum of 84,859 needed. However, considering the fact that more than 75% of the signatures were turned in, the group was given additional time to gather the rest. With a deadline to deliver at least 21,134 signatures by 26th of August, Arkansas Wins managed to collect and turn in a total of 49,790.
The Secretary of State’s office didn’t provide information on how much time it would need for a review; it did, however, point out that the deadline was 14th of September.
In the past, Arkansas voters haven’t been too inclined towards casino initiatives and they have been rejecting them ever since 1994. However, in 2008 the voters gave green light for for charity bingo games, as well as a lottery, which generates money for scholarships.
Video poker and similar types of electronic casino games are currently legal at the West Memphis Southland dog track and at the Oaklawn horse track in Hot Springs.