Casinos finally hit payoff | The Columbus Dispatch

Penn National officials describe to the media the gambling palace that will rise on this site in the Arena District after the passage of Issue 3. Money makes the roulette wheel go 'round -- and is the reason it will go 'round in Ohio's four largest cities.

[Greg]

Regrefully, Mr. Hallet, this was not a Top Shelf campaign pushed by the the two companies hoping for passage of Issue 3. Mary Ellen Witherow prostituted herself by appearing in several ads, which seemd to run endlessly on November 3. I admit, I did not see the ads that were run in Cleveland or Cincinnati, so I don't know the approach used there.

This will not generate 19,000 permanent NEW jobs. As Mr. Hallet wrote several weeks ago, some of these jobs will be 'cross-over'- people who take casino positions because their previous employer failed after the casinos opened. And I am smart enough to realize, that despite the message of several ads against the casinos, most of the positions will be filled by Ohio residents. A small number of jobes will be given to people from Las Vegas, Atlantic City and the Indiana and WV gambling sites.

The gaming companies will not be paying fair market values for their licenses, or an adequate tax rate to the government. For sure, the Ohio Legislature missed their chance to place their own amendment on the ballot for a more balanced law. The amendment as written, by the gaming companies, is heavily biased in their favor.

[Voted No on Issue 3]

This is idiocy.

[se ohio]

What about the rest of Ohio that is south of I-71? Putting casino's in the walfare centers is that smart? Giving more "public officials" a chance at more corruption? This is going to end badly.

[mark]

Cleveland and Cincinnati suck. If they think casinos can turn them around, they can have ours.

[MKAACES]

se ohio wrote:

What about the rest of Ohio that is south of I-71? Putting casino's in the walfare centers is that smart? Giving more "public officials" a chance at more corruption? This is going to end badly.

South of I 71????? or do you mean I 70

[Gab]

mark wrote:

Cleveland and Cincinnati suck. If they think casinos can turn them around, they can have ours.

They can have ours as well!
You should see the border towns around here.
Once thriving communities are like ghost towns.
Folks that supported the tax base,in many cases for generations,are hung out to dry,on their own!
No good deed goes unpunished when greedy politicians see an opportunity for revenue,at any cost!

[Media 202]

So it won somewhere? Where?

[AngelBear_OH]

Dan Gilbert was an online lender? Now there's something for which I have had a bad experience, borrowing only $750 and paying back a total of $2,200 in a year's time.

This is something TruthPAC should've told voters about Dan Gilbert, instead of that ancient history about the illegal bookmaking he did at age 18.

[brat]

mark wrote:

Cleveland and Cincinnati suck. If they think casinos can turn them around, they can have ours.

i thought the only gamble in hayward was which fault line will slip next.

[brat]

MKAACES wrote:

<quoted text>
South of I 71????? or do you mean I 70

south of 71 makes sense as it sorta' bisects the state on an angle from SW to almost NE and all 4 sites are on one side. well, maybe the cincy site could be a little into the other side. no clue what the site plan for there is.

[Greg]

Gab wrote:

<quoted text>
They can have ours as well!
You should see the border towns around here.
Once thriving communities are like ghost towns.
Folks that supported the tax base,in many cases for generations,are hung out to dry,on their own!
No good deed goes unpunished when greedy politicians see an opportunity for revenue,at any cost!

Politicians did not write this consitutional amendment. The two gaming companies that want to build the four casinos wrote the amendment, got the needed signatures, and put the amendment up for referendum on the Nov 4 ballot.

[Independent Thinker]

RALLY TO SUPPORT A TAX INCREASE FOR THESE CASINOS TO 55% OR MORE LIKE OUR NEIGHBOR, PENNSYLVANIA! We are only getting 33% of their profits to support OUR economy. The other 67% goes to the casino owners.

[SAL]

Why aren't more people asking how this got to be a constitutional amendment? Why does this kind of legislation belong in our state constitution? A pro-casino friend and I were dialoguing, and he remarked that all the surrounding states have casinos and are stealing our business.

My response was that, when I drive out of state, in any direction, what I see is a more depressed area than Ohio. For example, when I'm coming back into Ohio from the Indiana side, I don't need an "OHIO" sign to tell me when I'm back. The roads are better, the farms seem more prosperous, and it's obvious you're back. Same happens on the east, south and north. These areas have had casinos for a while now ... what good has it done for state prosperity?

You'd think that with all the exposure of corporate corruption lately, that we'd be able to figure this one out. But apparently, we're going to empty our pockets to "The Man" one more time. Jeez ... what's it going to take?

[James]

SAL wrote:

Why aren't more people asking how this got to be a constitutional amendment?

1.) The state constitution *had* to be amended in some way, because it previously had an amendment prohibiting gambling.

2.) While a lot of the stuff found in the amendment would have been better placed in Ohio law, there is no mechanism that allows people to change the state constitution and Ohio law with just one petition/one vote. If the pro-casino forces had wanted to do it that way, it would have required two separate votes.

3.) The pro-casino people wanted to put their own casino monopolies into law, because they were the ones putting up the money to get voters to vote in favor of them. For that, I can't blame them.

[The_Great_G]

I hope people start up some speakeasy casinos to compete with the constitutionally protected monopolies in the gambling market.

[Gab]

Greg wrote:

<quoted text>
Politicians did not write this consitutional amendment. The two gaming companies that want to build the four casinos wrote the amendment, got the needed signatures, and put the amendment up for referendum on the Nov 4 ballot.

The state will profit though,why else would they not block such a hot button issue?
Here the state gets 25% of the slot revenue per month,which adds up to about a half billion dollars a year.
The state already has those funds allocated for 30-40 years in the future.
Now with the waning economy they're raising and imposing new taxes to try and cover the short falls.
No matter how much they collect,they over spend!
And it's never on municipal services.

[Ghostryder]

I bet, uh, nevermind.

[Jason Thomas]

All I can say is "IT'S ABOUT TIME" the idiot voters in Ohio allowed casinos. It makes ZERO sense to allow all that money to leave the state. The people voting against the casinos were probably the same ones that put Obama in office. Ohio will probably be the last state to ever legalize medical marijuana as well.

[Dave S]

Jason Thomas wrote:

All I can say is "IT'S ABOUT TIME" the idiot voters in Ohio allowed casinos. It makes ZERO sense to allow all that money to leave the state. The people voting against the casinos were probably the same ones that put Obama in office. Ohio will probably be the last state to ever legalize medical marijuana as well.

I agree with everything except "The people voting against the casinos were probably the same ones that put Obama in office." I and my entire family have supported casinos for some time, and we also voted for Obama.

[Bob]

Well, now that we have casinos, what other law will need to be changed so they can compete with the other states casinos? Are we going to have a Constitutional Amendment to allow smoking in the casinos? How about a Constitutional Amendment to allow 24 hr liquor for the casinos? Drinking, smoking, and gambling go hand in hand. So when the casinos don’t generate the money everyone thinks they will, look for these special provisions for the casinos.

Funny thing is I haven’t seen anyone ask. What percentage of pay-back will the slots have? What type of machines will they be? Will they be the lottery based type or actual class 3 slot machines? I know they are supposed to use the license money to create a gambling board, but is it going to be made up of political cronies and family members? Who is going to certify the machines pay-out like they should?