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Will Arkansans pass the Casino initiative
Posted on 8/16/16 at 3:57 pm
Posted on 8/16/16 at 3:57 pm
in the upcoming election?
They have the required signatures submitted, guess they just need SOS to verify.
I'm voting for it, since they will be staying out of Central Arkansas.
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The group Arkansas Wins would build casinos in Boone, Miller and Washington counties — all of which are border counties.
They have the required signatures submitted, guess they just need SOS to verify.
I'm voting for it, since they will be staying out of Central Arkansas.
This post was edited on 8/16/16 at 3:58 pm
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Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:00 pm to Pigfeet
Oaklawn and Hot Springs fricked themselves big time, if it does.
They could have made some sort of proposal that worked for both Oaklawn and historic Hot Springs restoration. Now, they'll see an even smaller share of state tourism dollars.
They could have made some sort of proposal that worked for both Oaklawn and historic Hot Springs restoration. Now, they'll see an even smaller share of state tourism dollars.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:06 pm to Pigfeet
I think they should pass it. All these oxygen tank carrying, hole in the neck having, wrinkled old sacks need something to spend their welfare checks on.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:06 pm to Numberwang
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Oaklawn and Hot Springs fricked themselves big time, if it does.
Not hardly
Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:09 pm to Numberwang
I'll predict that any casino built in Washington County will be in Northern Springdale, to be central to the region's population base. I don't view them as particularly bad, just stupid places where old country artists hold concerts and old people congregate to piss away their disability checks.
Fayetteville won't be an option because of limits on garish neon, no tall signs within 500 ft of the freeway, 30 ft maximum signage city-wide, etc. HarBer area is being master-planned and the George's want that area to be nice. The city turned down a Love's Truckstop at DTP due to signage, which would have been unheard of 10 years ago.
Somewhere off Wagon Wheel or Elm Springs Rd makes the most sense. There's already a big casino across the border at Siloam Springs, which a casino in Washington County would impact a great deal.
Harrison would draw a lot of Branson traffic, and Texarkana would draw from Texas, of course.
Hot Springs should have tied some sort of casino proposal to renovating downtown hotels rather than new construction years ago. Instead, they'll keep watching their historic buildings fall to pieces one by one, and Oaklawn will start to decline after many years of growth.
Fayetteville won't be an option because of limits on garish neon, no tall signs within 500 ft of the freeway, 30 ft maximum signage city-wide, etc. HarBer area is being master-planned and the George's want that area to be nice. The city turned down a Love's Truckstop at DTP due to signage, which would have been unheard of 10 years ago.
Somewhere off Wagon Wheel or Elm Springs Rd makes the most sense. There's already a big casino across the border at Siloam Springs, which a casino in Washington County would impact a great deal.
Harrison would draw a lot of Branson traffic, and Texarkana would draw from Texas, of course.
Hot Springs should have tied some sort of casino proposal to renovating downtown hotels rather than new construction years ago. Instead, they'll keep watching their historic buildings fall to pieces one by one, and Oaklawn will start to decline after many years of growth.
This post was edited on 8/16/16 at 4:14 pm
Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:11 pm to Pigfeet
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Not hardly
The only city in the state with a history of casino gambling, and crumbling historic infrastructure, and a mediocre half-casino? Yeah, casinos in any other part of the state will negatively impact Hot Springs. Their resistance to them is dumb and misguided.
Siloam Springs has positively turned into a den of sin since a casino opened about 200 ft from the city border several years ago.
This post was edited on 8/16/16 at 4:13 pm
Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:19 pm to Pigfeet
quote:
Will Arkansans pass the Casino initiative
Not sure but will be voting for it
Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:26 pm to Numberwang
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they'll keep watching their historic buildings fall to pieces one by one, and Oaklawn will start to decline after many years of growth.
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crumbling historic infrastructure
You don't get down there much. We gutted and remodeled The Hot Springs Hotel and are adding a spa, called Hotel Hot Springs and Spa @ the beautiful Convention Center. Just a 9 million dollar project. Plans on adding another tower on adjoining land already acquired and approved.
The Arlington is considering the same by eliminating over a 1/3 of the rooms to convert to large luxury suites. tbd
The Thompson Building & Dugan-Stuart Building with a small 6 million dollar reno.
Do they have shitty places, yes. Are they ripe for the taking for reno, Hell yes.
Buy cheap, build fast, and on to the next adventure.
This post was edited on 8/16/16 at 4:29 pm
Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:27 pm to Pigfeet
I have no problem with casinos. I do have a problem that this amendment only allows these particular backers to open casinos.
If you're going to legalize casinos, at least open it up to competition and stop protecting particular interests. We've had enough of that with Oaklawn and W. Memphis.
If you're going to legalize casinos, at least open it up to competition and stop protecting particular interests. We've had enough of that with Oaklawn and W. Memphis.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:31 pm to Miz Piggy
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We've had enough of that with Oaklawn and W. Memphis.
Do you have a group or know of a group that wants to compete?
Posted on 8/16/16 at 4:51 pm to Pigfeet
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Do you have a group or know of a group that wants to compete?
Nope. I'm just generally opposed to constitutionally protected monopolies.
This post was edited on 8/16/16 at 4:53 pm
Posted on 8/16/16 at 5:07 pm to Pigfeet
I'm ok with it passing as long as this stays true
quote:
they will be staying out of Central Arkansas.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 5:07 pm to Miz Piggy
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Nope. I'm just generally opposed to constitutionally protected monopolies.
Do you not think Oaklawn and Southland already have that, and this law will bring in competition?
Posted on 8/16/16 at 5:10 pm to Pigfeet
I was in Hot Springs a few weeks ago. The Arlington is a sad sight to behold. It needs $100 million in work. Pathetic, really.
The Majestic is now donezo. Imagine if Hot Springs had gotten off its arse and out of its own way and allowed a casino developer to renovate that building, with attention to historic detail. Even that amount of investment downtown could have been a gamechanger.
People from as far north and west as at least Morrilton still make trips to Tunica. Hot Springs could have been getting that $$$ for the past 20 years. Imagine what that could have done for the downtown area. There are blocks of boarded up buildings adjacent to Central. Hot Springs is improving slowly and ever so slightly, but casino money could have been a gamechanger there a long time ago.
Oaklawn held them back. With an abundance mindset, Oaklawn would have advocated for their own large casino years ago. Instead, they viewed the pie as very small and focused on protecting their small piece of it.
It could have been bigger and better. Wang is right on that point.
There will probably be some half-assed hail-mary at Hot Springs casinos once other areas of the state start cashing in, but it still will fall short of what could have been.
The Majestic is now donezo. Imagine if Hot Springs had gotten off its arse and out of its own way and allowed a casino developer to renovate that building, with attention to historic detail. Even that amount of investment downtown could have been a gamechanger.
People from as far north and west as at least Morrilton still make trips to Tunica. Hot Springs could have been getting that $$$ for the past 20 years. Imagine what that could have done for the downtown area. There are blocks of boarded up buildings adjacent to Central. Hot Springs is improving slowly and ever so slightly, but casino money could have been a gamechanger there a long time ago.
Oaklawn held them back. With an abundance mindset, Oaklawn would have advocated for their own large casino years ago. Instead, they viewed the pie as very small and focused on protecting their small piece of it.
It could have been bigger and better. Wang is right on that point.
There will probably be some half-assed hail-mary at Hot Springs casinos once other areas of the state start cashing in, but it still will fall short of what could have been.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 5:16 pm to hawgfaninc
Just curious why you wouldn't want a casino in central Arkansas?
Washington County makes the least sense for a casino, out of those proposed. Nobody from Oklahoma is going to drive past a dozen Cherokee and Choctaw casinos to visit one in NWA. It will survive solely on locals and business-travelers.
I don't view casinos as some great evil, but I've been to a few of them on the Arkansas/Oklahoma border and they aren't all that bad. They can be done tastefully, just like any other building.
My broader point about Hot Springs, which I've posted about before, is that a law could have been written dictating that any casinos in Hot Springs can only be built in existing historic buildings, and require a 5 to 1 ratio of historic renovation or something similar. Meaning you have a 40,000 sf casino floor, you have to renovate at least 200,000 sf of a historic hotel/building as a part of the project. Something like that could have really done Hot Springs right.
Washington County makes the least sense for a casino, out of those proposed. Nobody from Oklahoma is going to drive past a dozen Cherokee and Choctaw casinos to visit one in NWA. It will survive solely on locals and business-travelers.
I don't view casinos as some great evil, but I've been to a few of them on the Arkansas/Oklahoma border and they aren't all that bad. They can be done tastefully, just like any other building.
My broader point about Hot Springs, which I've posted about before, is that a law could have been written dictating that any casinos in Hot Springs can only be built in existing historic buildings, and require a 5 to 1 ratio of historic renovation or something similar. Meaning you have a 40,000 sf casino floor, you have to renovate at least 200,000 sf of a historic hotel/building as a part of the project. Something like that could have really done Hot Springs right.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 5:24 pm to wmr
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but casino money could have been a gamechanger there a long time ago.
Not arguing that, timing is everything. The market had to run the previous owners out and now new money is coming in and buying.
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Majestic is now donezo
We all cheered.
The fact that I was disputing was that there isn't any progress being made.
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The Arlington is a sad sight to behold. It needs $100 million in work.
Quotes range: Low- 8 - 23 million. Owners to decide on which direction
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There are blocks of boarded up buildings adjacent to Central.
Are you talking about storefronts on Central or off of, not clear. Some of the store fronts on Central that are boarded up, the buildings have been sold and reno is being designed for 2017 completion date. Hot Springs is cheap right now, and money is on the table.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 5:29 pm to Pigfeet
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Do you not think Oaklawn and Southland already have that, and this law will bring in competition?
Competition in the form of this ONE group being allowed to open casinos. It's just perpetuating the same bad model.
And if this passes and in the future any other group or entity wants to propose an amendment to allow them to compete, this group and Oaklawn will throw all of their resources into making sure it doesn't pass.
I'd much prefer something that made it legal in certain counties, completely open to competition.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 5:30 pm to Pigfeet
quote:
We all cheered. The fact that I was disputing was that there isn't any progress being made.
The Majestic could have been saved. That's sort of part of my broader point. Casino money 15 years ago, and giving a casino/hotel developer an opportunity to renovate/restore that property could have meant Hot Springs retains an irreplaceable part of its history. Sure, over time, The Majestic gained a reputation as a crack den and homeless camp. It could have been restored and been another fine historic landmark. Now its going to be a parking lot. That isn't progress, IMO, and that is a failure to see the bigger picture. A failure of vision.
Hot Springs will eventually get its casinos, because it will see the error of its ways. Hot Springs could have had a monopoly on casinos in the state, become a real regional draw year round, and renovated and restored more of its historic buildings in the process. The failure is that nobody down there had the vision to see it coming, or the ability to get past local politics to make it happen.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 5:30 pm to wmr
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Just curious why you wouldn't want a casino in central Arkansas?
Forgot about your initial ?
I just don't think the Capital city of Arkansas needs gambling.
Just like Oaklawn, I view Casinos as an entertainment/tourism ventures. I think the areas that already have gambling and the ones that are proposed could use an entertainment/tourism cog in their game plan. LR, Bryant, Cabot really don't fit the bill, and would take away from the areas that may receive the boost.
Posted on 8/16/16 at 5:33 pm to Miz Piggy
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Competition in the form of this ONE group being allowed to open casinos.
Its my understanding that it is 3 different groups, but is utilizing the Cherokee Nation to run them. I may be wrong.
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I'd much prefer something that made it legal in certain counties, completely open to competition.
So would I, but its a start
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