As of 2018 Casino Gaming is legal in Arkansas. Supporters dangled promises of $120 million in annual tax revenue and jobs for the state.

The payouts would come if voters approved the constitutional amendment, according to its sponsors, Driving Arkansas Forward and Arkansas Jobs Coalition.

Casino supporters also vowed that by expanding gambling in Arkansas it would be a “chance to bring Pine Bluff back to its old self,” according to the Issue 4 fact sheet from the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, which is part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

In the six years since voters approved the issue, which opened the doors to casino gaming at Southland Casino Hotel in West Memphis and Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort of Hot Springs as well as in Pope and Jefferson counties, the promises mainly have been kept, even though a casino in Pope County never opened.

In 2024, Oaklawn, Southland and Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, which opened in 2019, generated $109.98 million in taxes paid to the state, according to numbers provided by the Arkansas Racing Commission. In 2023, the three operators collected $104.58 million in taxes for Arkansas.

Carlton Saffa, the chief market officer for Saracen, said $120 million in annual tax revenue is “very easily doable, especially when Saracen is complete.”

Saracen’s hotel and 1,600-seat event center is under construction and is expected to open in the fourth quarter.

The overall casino market in Arkansas continues to expand, he said. Wagers at terminal and slot machines at the three casinos jumped from $6.77 billion in 2021 to $7.64 billion in 2024.

And the three operators have created hundreds of jobs since Issue 4 passed.

Saracen began operating in 2019, and employs 800 people, Saffa said. Another 200 to 300 jobs will be added when Saracen’s hotel and event center open.

Oaklawn employed 900 in 2024, up from 700 in 2020. And Southland reported 1,200 employees in 2024. It previously reported 480 workers in 2015 when it was primarily a dog track.

But returning Pine Bluff to its old self might take time, Saffa said. Several of the city’s economic indicators show the Jefferson County city is continuing to slide.

Pine Bluff’s population fell from 42,422 in 2018 to 39,123 in 2023. Its population was more than 57,000 in 1990.

Unemployment Rate in Jefferson County

Shaded areas indicate U.S. recessions. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Its unemployment rate was 4.3% in November 2018 and its preliminary number for November 2024 was 4.4%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Pine Bluff’s housing market also has taken a hit. In December 2024, the median home sale price in Pine Bluff was $84,000, down 11.6% from the previous year, according to the online real estate brokerage company, Redfin. It said the median sale price per square foot was $64 in December, a drop of 4.4% since last year.

Jerry Cox, the founder and president of the Family Council of Little Rock, who spoke against casino gaming in 2018, doesn’t agree that casino gambling has helped Arkansas’ economy.

“When voters legalized casino gambling in 2018, many were under the impression it would generate tax revenue to improve Arkansas’ roads and bolster the economy,” Cox told Arkansas Business via email. “I think it’s obvious that simply has not happened.”

He said that most of the state’s highways “really are not any better now than they were six years ago.”

But he said there is “evidence that gambling addiction and problem gambling have increased in Arkansas, and Family Council has real concerns about the harm that may be causing to individuals and families.”

Saracen’s Saffa said the casino alone can’t fix whatever people think ails Pine Bluff, but it can help.

“There’s two ways to win a jackpot at Saracen,” he said. “One is to be a customer, and one is to work here.”

More than 70% of its 800 employees live in Jefferson County. The top table games dealer made $145,379 last year and the average dealer received $83,500.

A slot attendant’s annual rate of full-time pay, with tips, is more than $125,000 annually.

Saracen’s policy prohibits employees from gambling at the casino.

Meanwhile, in 2023, Jefferson County had a per capita personal income of $43,046, which was 61.7% of the national average of $69,810, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ website. In 2018, the county’s per capita personal income was 63.4% of the national average.

Still, Pine Bluff is expected to receive another bonanza when Saracen’s hotel and event center opens.

Both Oaklawn and Southland expanded after Issue 4 passed, allowing casino gambling.

Southland, owned by Delaware North, a hospitality and gambling titan based in Buffalo, New York, opened a 300-room hotel and casino complex with 113,000 SF of space in 2022. The expansion cost $250 million.

Oaklawn opened its $100 million expansion in 2021, adding a 200-room high-rise hotel; 28,000 SF of gaming space with a new high-roller area; and an upscale restaurant and an adjacent bar.

Saracen, which is owned and operated by the Quapaw Nation in Oklahoma, plans on opening a luxury 14-story hotel with 320 rooms and event center, which will cost about $250 million.

The hotel will be a boost for the city and Saracen. “When a player can stay the night, their trip becomes more valuable to the casino because their time on the floor is extended,” Saffa said.

Saracen plans to market the hotel to the region, including places that have casinos nearby, such as Jackson, Mississippi, north Louisiana and Texas.

The event center, with “its impressive room with a huge, permanent stage” also will draw visitors to Pine Bluff. The performers “are the sorts of act that folks are going to be surprised to see,” Saffa said, but he declined to say who is scheduled to perform in late 2025 and next year.

About a million people come through the casino’s turnstiles annually, Saffa said. While most of the players live in the Little Rock area, about 15% to 20% traveled from outside of Arkansas, Saffa said.

Allison J. H. Thompson, president and CEO of the Economic Development Alliance for Jefferson County, told Arkansas Business that “there’s been an uptick in the community from fast food [restaurants] like Chick-fil-A coming in, to entrepreneurs starting new restaurants and things on Main Street.” But she didn’t know if those developments were directly related to Saracen opening.

Jefferson County received $2.17 million in tax revenue from Saracen in 2024, up from $2.01 million the previous year. Pine Bluff received $4.48 million casino gaming tax from Saracen Casino in 2023, up from $4.15 million the previous year.

“The decline of Pine Bluff occurred for decades,” Saffa said. “We are kidding ourselves if we think that we can turn that around in less than five years. We’ll tell you, though, I know we’re having an impact.”