(West Memphis, AR) Southland is safe from competition, at least for a little longer.
Arkansas’s State Supreme court booted two issues to expand casinos in the state.
They’ll still show up on the November ballot, but the votes won’t count.
The ruling blocks any chance of Nancy Todd’s “Poker Palace and Entertainment Venues, LLC” from opening for the time being.
Troy Keeping, Southland’s President and GM, says Southland isn’t opposed to other casinos opening up in Crittenden County.
He says the court’s ruling was right because Todd, the measure’s sponsor, changed the wording on petitions after thousands of people signed them.
“Her amendment would eliminate the games of skill in Arkansas and basically close Southland and Oaklawn. She was contending it wasn’t the case, but when you read the bill, it was clearly the case, that we would no longer be an entity,” Keeping says.
He says the language of the amendment is too long and complicated for many voters to understand. It boils down to unfair control of gaming in Arkansas.
“So the only thing that Southland would be able to operate would have been the greyhound racetrack portion of our business,” Keeping says.
The ruling doesn’t mean Nancy Todd can’t re-submit her amendment in the future.
Early voting begins October 22nd in Arkansas.
