Place Your Bet: Will Yankton Get a Casino?

There was a day (and it doesn't seem that long ago) that if you wanted to wager a few bucks (or a few bucks more) you had to hop a plane and head to Sin City.

Yahoo! Its Vegas bay! What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas (including your money!).

But things have changed. Back in 1989 I was living in Rapid City and that fall Deadwood lit up, there was a gun duel on Main Street one day at noon and just like that...the one armed bandits were back. Now, that one-arm is largely gone, but the machines (and tables) aren't.

These days the nearest casino for most of us is just a short drive away, maybe down the block, maybe down the highway.

And Yankton wants to be your next gaming destination.

Supporters of a proposed casino and entertainment complex in Yankton are bringing their hopes to Pierre.

As it turns out, you can't just wake up one day and decide to put a fun, big bright casino in your town. You need lawmakers to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot, in this case the November ballot. A measure introduced this week at the Capitol would ask voters to allow a nonprofit group one gaming license for our friends in southeastern South Dakota.

They say it would allow Yankton to compete with Iowa and Nebraska for tourists as well as conventions.

A coalition of tribes in the area aren't big on the idea. They say the project would threaten the livelihood of South Dakota tribes.

So I guess we can place our bet...will Yankton get a casino? Ultimately, if it makes the ballot, voters will decide.