It seems Cherokee Nation Entertainment wants to get involved in the casino business in Arkansas. So say folks on a committee formed to get more casinos on the ballot. The argument seems to be: The tribe knows how to do this sorta thing.
They're probably right about that. Cherokee Nation Entertainment manages the tribe's gambling, hotel and entertainment businesses. That outfit probably has a lot of experience in the ins and outs of taking money from the suckers.
So let's not.
The effort afoot to open three casinos in Arkansas is in the early stages just now. Apparently canvassers are getting signatures. They'll need almost 85,000 to get the matter on the ballot come November. And the deadline for getting those signatures is July 8. What a country! What a democracy! What a bad idea!
The lottery is doing plenty enough damage to the poor and gullible in this state. Every time the lottery announces that its revenue has gone up, it means more people are being taken by the state's legalized numbers racket. Or at least the same people are giving up more money. As for college scholarships, if you wanted to redistribute money from the poor to the middle class, can anybody figure out a better way than the lottery?
And did anybody ask folks in Miller, Washington or Boone counties--in which the new casinos would open--whether they wanted these neon signs blistering the landscape? Boone County! The weekend destination for so many in Arkansas, Missouri and points beyond, nestled between the Buffalo River and Bull Shoals. What a blunder it would be to build a loud, gaudy, 24-hour casino into that countryside.
Here Arkansas has finally got rid of all those awful signs advertising payday loan scams, and some folks want to replace those signposts with Blackjack! Poker! 24 Hours! Some people might not be happy until our highways look like Louisiana's, which would most definitely not be an improvement.
As far as taxes generated by these casinos, what price do we sell our state? And how many more poor and gullible people will go to these casinos not for entertainment but for investment? Only to blow the light bill on a poorly timed face card?
There are already too many opportunities to lose the light bill in this state without inviting stand-alone, 24/7 casinos. Leave that to Las Vegas, the Gulf Coast and, yes, the Indian tribes.
Two simple words: Let's not.
Editorial on 06/27/2016