LITTLE ROCK (KATV) – On Tuesday, Arkansas residents will decide whether a casino can be built in Pope County by voting for or against Issue 2.

It's the culmination of a years-long legal battle between Indian nations over who gets to build a casino in Pope County – if anyone gets to build a casino at all.

If you've watched TV in Arkansas, you've most likely seen the many commercials for and against Issue 2, but how would the proposed constitutional amendment actually affect Arkansas?

In short, a vote for Issue 2 means the proposed Cherokee Nation casino cannot be built in Pope County and no more casinos will be allowed in the state at all, reducing the total number of casino licenses allowed in Arkansas by the change 100 in 2018 from four to three.

A majority of Pope County voters voted against that earlier amendment, which specifically opened their county to a casino.

“This has already been voted on in Pope County; they said they didn't want it in Pope County. It was forced upon them by the rest of the state,” said Arkansas Senate President Bart Hester, (R) District 33.

Issue 2 would also require county-level votes to allow locals to decide whether or not they want a casino in their county.

“Issue 2 is about who makes decisions on issues as big of an impact as a casino. Who is better suited to make this decision than the people who live there?” said Hans Stiritz, spokesman for the responsible local voters.

“So when you vote for Issue 2, you are voting to put the power of that decision in the hands of local voters in every community where a casino is proposed,” Stiritz told KATV.

However, the Cherokee Nation has already spent years building relationships with local governments and contractors and purchased land in Russellville for its Legends Resort & Casino.

According to casino supporters, thousands of potential jobs and millions of dollars will be lost if Issue 2 is passed.

“The fact that we are investing so much time into the project in the hopes of creating a thousand construction jobs and (the casino) employing a thousand people over a two-year period … to the local sales tax implications and the resulting ones “excess gambling revenue to the streets — all of that will be lost if Amendment 2 passes,” said Mark Beach, CEO of CDI Contractors, the construction company waiting to build the casino.

A vote against Issue 2 means the Cherokee Casino will be built in Pope County. In this case, the Cherokee Nation will provide nearly $40 million to Pope County as part of an economic development agreement. For this reason and other economic benefits promised by the casino, many Pope County officials oppose Issue 2.

“Of course I am against point 2. So are my mayors, my city council members and the members of my college court,” Pope County Judge Ben Cross told KATV.

“This is a huge super project that has just been abandoned; it can start. And by voting no, you save this project and save many state jobs and needed tax revenue,” said Natalie Ghidotti, vice chair of Arkansas Investments.

“We have worked hard to convey our message to voters and we hope they understand what it is about,” Stiritz said.

“If there is confusion, we hope they will look it up, read the wording and understand what it really says, and not necessarily what the opposition is trying to make of it. We hope people come out and vote for Issue 2.”

It's worth noting that both sides are funded primarily by out-of-state casinos, Cherokee on one side and Choctaw on the other, each pursuing their own business interests.

And one final time, a vote for Issue 2 means there will be no new casino in Pope County or anywhere else in the state. A vote against Issue 2 means there will be a new casino in Pope County.

To be clear, if Issue 2 actually passes, Arkansans would have to amend the state constitution again to allow more casinos in the state.