One percent of every dollar spent there will go to taxes to pay for roads, schools and law enforcement. I asked a friend in Biloxi who works for a newspaper that originally opposed gambling. The traffic, she said, also adding that affordable housing is hard to find. Last year Mississippi attracted 50 million tourists, a number that has increased every year since casinos were made legal. About 20 million tourists came to Arkansas, a 5 percent decrease caused by the healthy economy.
Most tourists come to Arkansas to visit family and friends.
Last year, with more money in their pockets, travelers didn't need to sponge off relatives and friends so they went somewhere that offered a greater range of activities, according to the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. For many Americans today, that means gambling, or the amenities funded by gambling, such as top-flight entertainment, fine resorts, good restaurants, etc. I don't want state-wide gambling in Arkansas. But I would like to see it in Hot Springs, which, with its race track and other attractions, draws the greatest number of tourists to Arkansas. Hot Springs people could handle casino gambling.