JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Missouri voters will soon decide whether to add a new casino license, specifically to build a casino at Lake of the Ozarks.

Lake of the Ozarks is a popular tourist destination, but this time of year, when there’s a chill in the air, it starts to look like a ghost town. Fifth Amendment sponsors say there’s one thing that could help with that: a casino.

A “yes” vote on Amendment Five would allow a 14th casino license in Missouri, the state constitution currently allows only 13. It would also change the constitution to allow the casino to be built at Lake, as currently they they can only be built along rivers.

Yes to 5 Spokesman John Hancock tells me that adding a casino would create year-round tourism in the lake area.

“The local community of Lake of the Ozarks needs the people of Missouri to vote for this so that they can have this economic development that they so desperately need,” Hancock said.

Bally’s, the group sponsoring the amendment, already has a mock-up of the casino it would like to build. They want to build it on a lot of highway 54 that is now just a quarry. It would include a 300-room hotel.

However, even if Amendment Five passes, Bally’s is not guaranteed a new casino license. The state would go through the normal bidding process before granting the license.

Although the Lake Ozark city council has expressed support for the amendment, the Missouri Gaming Association is against it because it says voters have already spoken on the issue 30 years ago.

In a statement, the association said: “The Missouri Gaming Association has led an effort to limit the number of casinos in the state. We do not support opening casino gaming to an additional waterway, nor do we believe the Missouri Constitution needs to be changed for any gaming issue.”

If approved, Amendment Five is expected to bring $2 million to the lake area each year and contribute $14 million in tax revenue for early literacy.

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