LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved one proposal, but rejected another that would reduce the number of petition signatures that supporters of the casino would need and make it easier for them to get their item on the table. This item already has groups denouncing the possibility.
The possibility of poker and roulette coming to Arkansas is an issue with people speaking out on both sides.
Wednesday McDaniel approved the wording of a proposal that would allow casino gambling in the state.
Now backers are getting ready to collect the signatures they need to get their proposal on the ballot in November.
"I didn't go into it expecting to do anything than what we have done already," says Nancy Todd, owner of Nancy Todd's Poker Palace. "We are right on track. It's a short time line but it doesn't scare us."
Todd, along with entertainment venues, must collect nearly 80,000 signatures of registered voters to get the proposal on the table. Four counties; Crittenden, Franklin, Miller and Pulaski could get casinos if they get enough signatures and voters pass it in November.
Todd says the big draw to getting casinos in Arkansas is money.
"The mega resort operations will end up hiring between 1,200 and 1,500 permanent good-paying jobs and obviously you have half a billion dollars that is leaving Arkansas now and going to the states all around you. So there is a tremendous amount of money that is being sucked out."
Not everyone agrees with Todd. The Family Council is quick to denounce the proposal, saying it's just the opposite.
"These casinos pull money out of the economy rather than putting it back in," says Director Jerry Cox.
He also fears gambling could cause social problems.
"They are going to be harmful to families because a lot of times people gamble away money they cannot afford to lose so it's the families that end up suffering," says Cox.
They need 78,133 signatures of registered voters by July 6. As far as the Family Council goes, they are looking to form a coalition to oppose the measure.