BELLA VISTA — Two convenience stores in Bella Vista have applied for licenses to sell lottery tickets.

"Lottery ticket sales and games are scheduled to begin by Sept. 28, 2009, and already, applications for lottery licenses are pouring in," an Arkansas Lottery Commission press release states.

All in One, at U.S. Highway 71 and Dartmoor Road, and Grand Central Station, on Forest Hills Boulevard, sent in applications and are waiting for their licenses.

"Selling lottery tickets will be something new for the customers," said Mike McKenzie, owner of Grand Central Station. "A lot of them are going to be interested. I'd rather they buy one in Arkansas than in Missouri."

People have already been asking whether or not the store will sell tickets, clerk Kathleen Hamersley said.

Two customers at Grand Central Station on Aug. 12 said they are looking forward to buying lottery tickets at the store.

"I'll probably buy tickets in both states," said Bruce Moseno, referring to Arkansas and Missouri.

Ted Turner said it would be a lot easier to buy lottery tickets in Bella Vista instead of going to the state line.

McKenzie doesn't know how long the application process will take, as nothing about the length of time for approval has been posted on the commission's Web site, http://lotterycommission.arkansas.gov.

"The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is not only an opportunity to provide scholarships to thousands of individuals seeking higher education in our state, but also an economic opportunity for businesses in Arkansas to generate new traffic and revenue in their stores through the promotion and sales of our instant and online games," said Ernie Passailaigue, the commission's executive director. "Our licensing operation is working overtime to assure that no business is left behind."

Retailers have to pay $100 to file for the first location and $25 for each additional site, according to the application form. Along with paying the money, businesses have to fill out a nine-page form with personal and financial information.

Applicants also have to sign a form allowing the Arkansas State Police to conduct a criminal-record search.

While some local businesses are waiting patiently for word on their applications, others are not going to get involved - at least not right now.

Neither Harps nor Allen's Foods will be going through the application process.

"We're not interested at this time," said Roger Collins, CEO of Harps Food Stores. "We prefer not to get involved. We're trying to sell groceries. Selling lottery tickets seems counterproductive."

Steve Morrow, manager of Allen's, echoed the sentiment.

None of Allen's Oklahoma stores sell lottery tickets, Morrow said. Since providing good service to people buying groceries is their goal, making shoppers wait in line because of lottery-ticket sales doesn't seem right, he said.

Business, Pages 12 on 08/19/2009

Comments

To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers.

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.