Editing West Memphis, Arkansas (section)

===Gambling===
West Memphis is one of only two cities in Arkansas (along with [[Hot Springs, Arkansas|Hot Springs]]) with a venue for [[Parimutuel betting|parimutuel gambling]], antedating the casino developments in nearby [[Tunica County, Mississippi]], by many years.

In the 1990s, [[Southland Greyhound Park]], one of West Memphis' largest employers, saw its attendance and revenues decline drastically, with a corresponding economic impact on both the town and state. This was largely attributed to the rise of casino gambling in nearby [[Tunica Resorts, Mississippi|Tunica, Mississippi]]. By 2002, Southland struggled to survive.<ref name="SouthlandYearns">{{Cite news| first=Jack | last=Whitsett | title=Southland yearns for dogs' glory days | date=January 14, 2002 | publisher=Arkansas Business Limited Partnership | url =http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/ | work=Arkansas Business Journal | access-date = September 4, 2008 }}</ref>

Following an estimated $40&nbsp;million investment by the park's owner<ref name="NewGames">{{Cite news| last=Editorial | title=New games make Southland park more competitive | date=May 4, 2007 | publisher=American City Business Journals | url =http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2007/05/07/editorial1.html | work=Memphis Business Journal | access-date = September 4, 2008 }}</ref> and the addition since 2006 of electronic games of skill and video poker machines,<ref name="SLG">{{Cite web|url=https://www.southlandcasino.com/|title=Southland Casino &#124; Slots, Live Table Games, Racing &#124; West Memphis, AR|website=Southlandcasino.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-regional/9257414-1.html |first=Dixie|last=Martin|title= ''Arkansas Business''|date= March 29, 1993}}</ref> Southland has added more than 300 new employees, making it the third largest employer in West Memphis with 660 employees.<ref name="NewGames"/>