Know when to hold ‘em

And know when to vote ‘no’ on Issue 4

OOOOOH-klahoma where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plains! Where the wavin’ wheat can sure smell sweet, and the casinos ring up the suckers night and day!

The other day, your friendly statewide newspaper reported that the Indian tribes of Oklahoma saw a record growth in revenue from their casino operations in 2016. The tribal casino bidness there took in $4.4 billion in 2016—that’s up 5 percent from the previous year. It was the 15th consecutive year for growth for the Oklahoma tribes.

Folks, that’s a longer streak than the New England Patriots winning the AFC East. (They finished second in 2008.)

On top of that, non-gaming revenue, like from hotels and buffets, was a tad over $750 million, give or take a million.

Is it any wonder that several Indian tribes are paying for all those ads touting Issue 4 in Arkansas? They want to bring casinos here. But that’s only the first part of the plan.

Opening casinos in Arkansas is Step One.

Step Two is to take money from Arkansans.

It’s an oft-used cliché: They don’t build those big casinos by losing money to gamblers. But it’s cliché because it’s true. Now voters know that Indian tribes in Oklahoma alone took $4.4 billion in one year, and nationally, gamblers lost, yes lost, $31.5 billion at Indian casinos that same year. That’s not including all the other casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City and along the Mississippi River.

For all the millions of dollars that Oklahoma tribes have pumped into promoting Issue 4, the gamble seems to be paying off:

Recent polling data from Talk Business and Politics shows Issue 4 has 49 percent support among Arkansans. That’s compared to 43 percent who apparently plan to vote against bringing casinos to Arkansas. The data was released Wednesday, so it’s fresh.

(Prior data from the same source had more people against it than for it, but all the ads about how these gambling dens would save our state’s budget must be working.)

Here’s the bottom line on this casino business, and it is a business: You are not supposed to win. That’s what the house is banking on, and the house will always make bank.

Forget the fact that Russellville and Pine Bluff have no local say over whether they get a casino. This bill’s language essentially puts a casino monopoly into the Arkansas constitution. Does something like that belong in our state’s most powerful document? Isn’t it crowded enough?

The jury’s still out on exactly what financial benefits, if any, we’ll see from these casinos. But here’s one thing we know for sure will happen: People will lose money at the blackjack and roulette tables.

That’s the business model.

And it never fails.