SHREVEPORT, La. – On Election Day, Arkansas voters will cast ballots for or against Issue 4. It would amend the Arkansas Constitution to authorize four casinos to operate in the state. Susanne Brunner went to Shreveport Louisiana to learn more about the impact casinos have in the city and what that could mean for Arkansas.

A city rich in history has seen its fair share of various businesses pop up, but none quite like this.

“This was a multi-million dollar industry,” says Liz Swaine, Executive Director of the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority.

Louisiana voters approved casino gaming in the mid 90’s. Swaine remembers a majority of people who were excited about the beneficial impact casinos would have on Shreveport and Bossier City.

“It was going to be spending a lot of money, they were going to be building infrastructure, they were going to be hiring a lot of people,” she explains.

The proposal, also came with concerns about crime.

“We have not seen an uptick in crime. We truly have not,” she adds.

In fact, Swaine believes casinos are some of the safest places in the city. There were also worries about people going all in with money they don’t have.

“I don’t think the fact that people come here and spend money has increased our poverty,” continues Swaine.

Since the beginning, Louisiana State Senator John Milkovich saw this as a high-stakes plan with no jackpot in sight.

“Gambling is not production, it’s not economic growth, gambling is not the creation of wealth, Susanne. Gambling is the transfer of wealth,” he says.

Numbers from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board shows in 2016 to 2017, the Shreveport-Bossier City market generated about $32 million dollars in casino revenue. A portion goes to schools and parishes to spend however they like. However, Milkovich says this shouldn’t overshadow what the industry is doing to families.

“Their personal finances crumble, their families are thrown into adversity, the tax base of course disintegrates,” says Milkovich.

Yet, the area still attracts plenty of people out of state, including Arkansans, who want to hit three in a row. Win or lose, Shreveport and Bossier City took a chance on casinos. Now more than 20 years later, many believe the payout was worth it.

“The casinos have definitely been a catalyst for getting Shreveport and Bossier City recognized,” says Stacy Brown, President Shreveport/Bossier City Convention and Tourist Bureau.

At the Shreveport and Bossier City Convention and Tourist Bureau, you can find a room full of pamphlets of sites and activities for people to check out in town. The room shows the domino effect casinos have played.

“We’ve developed a number of attractions throughout the region. Gators and Friends which is an alligator park, the water park and the American Rose Center,” says Brown.

The Convention and Tourist Bureau has focused on other things for visitors to do in town. Some casinos are even putting an extra spin on downtown development.

“They were very generous. They gave grants, they participated in events, they were sponsors, they built things like this,” Swaine explains.

The Red River District is a result of Hollywood Casino, the now El Dorado Casino. The district offers restaurants, businesses and live entertainment venues.

Driving Arkansas Forward, the group behind Arkansas’ Issue 4, hopes to boost the economy, create more jobs and keep casino tax dollars local. According to the Mississippi Gaming Commission, in July 2018 alone, more than 113,000 Arkansans went to Mississippi casinos. Louisiana couldn’t provide numbers, but Brown believes they’ve had a lucky draw of visitors in the beginning, “There has been a decline in casino gaming. And that’s not just locally, but around the country.”

Instead, Brown has found more people are starting to cash out to stay in their own backyard as more casinos pop up.

“I think that any state that is considering gambling needs to think long and hard, very carefully, very prayerfully, whether gambling is a blessing or a curse,” Milkovich says.

“I don’t know what we would look like without them. I know there would be a big gap where that tax base is. I know there would be a big hole where those jobs are now created,” says Swaine.

She doesn’t know if she can recognize Shreveport and Bossier City now, without casinos. A wager, Arkansas voters will have on the line on Election Day.