Texas Businessman Begins Quest For Arkansas Casinos

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved the title of a possible constitutional amendment that would allow for casinos in Arkansas. Now, a Texas businessman will begin his quest to bring the casinos to life.

Michael Wasserman, owner of Arkansas Hotels and Entertainment Inc., will again try to collect enough signatures to have the amendment placed on the ballot in Arkansas. It is not the first time that Wasserman has attempted to bring casinos to the state.

Wasserman will begin with a petition in which he must collect at least 77,468 signatures. The signatures must be verified, and if he collects more than the necessary amount, the issue will go voters in Arkansas.

If approved, the amendment would give Wasserman exclusive rights to build casinos in Miller, Jefferson, Garland, Crittenton, Pulaski, Sebastian, and Boone counties. It would be a major gambling expansion project for the state.

Arkansas is much like other states that have had difficulty balancing their budgets since the economic recession. The recession has left many people without jobs, and businesses have been closed. The casinos would be a way for thousands of Arkansas residents to gain employment.

The southern states in the US have been among the last to come around to the idea of casino gambling, but one by one, the states have started to consider casinos. Wasserman has pushed for the amendment twice before, but failed in his bid both times.

January 16, 2010
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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