Author and political scientist Michael Nelson spoke at the Clinton center Monday about why Arkansas voters have never approved a lottery, and what might happen if the current lottery proposal by Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter passes. Lottery proposals have come and gone over the years, with Arkansas voters never approving them.

(Michael Nelson, Author) "Arkansas is the one state in the south that never has had a straight vote on a lottery. It's been mixed in with other things, and that's one of the reasons why it's never passed."

Nelson, a Rhodes College professor and author of "How the South Joined the Gambling Nation" weighed in on the advantages and disadvantages for Arkansas--if the current lottery proposal passes.

(Nelson) "Theres no question that, based on the experience of the other states that have lotteries, that if you have a lottery in Arkansas, most of the tickets that are bought will be lost by the poor and working class people."

Halter says they key to this statewide lottery's success is it would raise about $1 million annually for college scholarships.

(Nelson) "One of the advantages a state has when it creates a lottery with the revenues designated for college scholarships is that more of your high school graduates will stay in Arkansas for college and beyond college. I don't know if that outweighs the negatives, but it's certainly a plus."

The wording of the proposal has already been shot down once by the state attorney general. If voters approve the lottery proposal, then it will be up to the state legislature to create the law that will actually put it into effect.