TUNICA, Miss — After legalizing gambling, groups in Arkansas are moving fast to get casinos up and running. In Tunica, casinos are already seeing increased traffic. Will Arkansas see similar success.
Central Arkansans are willing to travel to Mississippi to get in on the action.
John Walton is a Cabot resident that we met in Tunica.
"It was either this or watch it at home," Walton said. "So we thought, why not come over here and have some fun and enjoy the game?"
Walton and his friend Jess Howard drove down from central Arkansas. Gold Strike's president, David Tsai, said a lot of new customers have come in since it became the first Tunica casino to offer sports betting in August.
"We have great volume. A lot of people coming in. We've seen more traffic through our casino," Tsai said. "We've probably collected about 1,000-1,500 bets a day, so it's been really great. And, of course, we're looking at ways we can continue to improve the experience."
The state of Mississippi expected to collect around $5 million in additional taxes thanks to sports betting. Tsai said he didn't know about other casinos, but Gold Strike has beat its projections.
"It's been great. We were one of the first casinos - the first casino here in Tunica - to offer legal sports betting, on Aug. 1," Tsai said. "Volume's been fantastic. I think it's really been stronger than we anticipated."
For now, the Gold Strike is the closest game in town. But once casinos in Arkansas are up and running, odds are pretty good that some of that business will stay closer to home.
"Absolutely. We're super-excited to get Oaklawn and all four of them in Arkansas," Walton said. "I think it'll be great for the state."
Howard had a similar take. He already enjoys going to Oaklawn and thinks this will make it even better.
"Oaklawn especially, because I already like to play the ponies," Howard said. "Having a weekend there, playing the ponies, having tables to play, too? I think it'll be fun."
Even with Southland Park planning to build a sports book next summer, Tsai said he's not worried about the extra competition.
"We're going to continue to invest and build a first-class experience," Tsai said. "We wish them well, but a lot of the customers who have been coming to us for many years will continue coming to us because of what we offer to them."