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  • PAID LEADER: Financial filing shows Nancy Todd (pictured here in image from her website) is being paid by investment groups from Missouri to lead a casino amendment campaign.

Nancy Todd alerted me that the group pushing a casino amendment initiative had filed a batch of papers with the state Ethics Commission today. I’ve been writing about the absence of reports on her group’s effort to gather signatures for an amendment to permit four unregulated casinos operated under her name.

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The filings included organizational papers for two new ballot question organizations and they report the money supporting the campaign flows primarily from two investment companies in Missouri ($195,000):

* The Nancy Todd Poker Palace and Entertainment Venues LLC. It shows three people with Little Rock office addresses as leaders — Bob Womack, director; Larry Weis, officer, and Dianne Dalton as treasurer. Todd and Jim Thompson are also members of the committee, whose mission is to qualify and pass the amendment.

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The commitee reported raising $27,600 — $20,000 from SKAP Investments of Branson, Mo., and $7,500 from Arkansas Development I LLC — in May. It spent about $3,700 on advertising and signature gathering.

* Also filed was paperwork for Arkansas Development I LLC. It has the same officers and purpose as the Nancy Todd Poker Palace filing.

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This group reported (in a belated report on activities in March) raising $175,000 and spending about $45,000. All the money came from Evergreen Investments of Lebanon, Mo. In March, it spent more than $23,000 with the Williams and Anderson law firm in Little Rock and more than $21,000 paying Todd for consulting and expenses.

For April, the group reported spending another $58,753 — primarily for more Williams and Anderson fees and more payments to Todd.

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In May, the group spent another $49,130, leaving about $29,000 of the original money on hand. More than $40,000 went to Todd.

The filings don’t show recent expenditures for canvassers, except those on the Poker Palace May report, though the canvassers continue to work, according to multiple reports. I’ve also heard reports of robocalls and and radio advertising. The batch of late filings would seem tacitly to concede the obvious, that reports didn’t begin as law requires with spending of $500.

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Registered agent for SKAP Investments is Marc Williams of Branson. He, Todd confirms, is also CFO of HCW LLC, a development firm whose projects have included Branson Landing and hotels in that area. He was out of the office this afternoon. Evergreen Investments is headed by Stephen Plaster, and the firm is also an investor in Branson Landing. Todd said they are partners in the casino effort. Evergreen’s holdings were amassed by Plaster’s father, the late Robert Plaster, a former utility company chief (Empire Gas) who became well-known for philanthropy in the region, including, perhaps ironically in this context, in support of a Baptist college. I’ve left a message for him.

Todd also filed a report showing no activity in either fund-raising or expenditures by the organization for which she’d originally filed papers, Arkansas Counts.

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The casino amendment would allow casinos in Pulaski, Miller, Crittenden and Franklin counties and prohibit legislative oversight. Amendments require more signatures than initiated act. The group must obtain 78,133 signatures of registered voters by July 6. Initiated acts need 62,507.

UPDATE FOLLOWS AFTER A LATE-AFTERNOON PHONE INTERVIEW WITH TODD: