Once again casinos are on the ballot in the state of Ohio. This has been an issue on and off the ballot for years in this state and issue three will be on the ballot this November for vote from Ohio Citizens.

Casinos have been thought of in the state back in 1990 when Alan Spitzer, a car dealership owner in Northeastern Ohio tried to convince voters in the state to build a casino on the beach of Lake Erie in Loraine County. He spent 3 quarters of a million dollars to try and convince voters that a casino would be a good thing in Ohio. Opponents, however, spent twice that amount and the issue was defeated by an almost 2 to 1 margin. Spitzer tried again in 1996 and this time he got some help from San Francisco 49ers owner, Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. this time he outspent opponents by pouring in $8.5 million to advertise for the casino issue. It didn’t work, the issue lost by another 2-1 margin.

Here we go again, the issue is on the 2009 ballot as Issue 3 and spending has topped $100 million for advertising against and for the issue. Ironically about 100 temporary jobs have been created during the 2009 campaign for both sides and it seems that putting the issue on the ballot might be just as good for the state economy as it would to actually pass the issue and build casinos.

The 2009 Issue three sites four casinos to be placed in four major cities in Ohio. The state would receive about $200 million in licensing fees and an estimated $651 million per year in tax revenue if the issue passes.  Earlier in the year Governor Strickland of Ohio permitted the placement of Video Lottery machines or slot machines into the state run racetracks. This created a real annoyance for those that oppose gambling in the state but this was the only way to get the state budget that was already late with state employees in danger of not getting paid, to even come close to balancing.

Proponents of issue three say that now Ohioans support other states by going there to gamble in their casinos when they could be keeping their money to support their own state if casinos are built there. Currently Ohioans can travel just a few miles to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan to frequent the casinos there. Opponents argue that Issue 3 won’t bring 34 thousand jobs to Ohio. The casinos will have to give job preference to people living in Ohio. They say they will import people from other states to man the casinos. How much sense does that make? If you import people from another state won’t they want to live near where they work?  They would become Ohio residents and it is unrealistic to think that every job available at the Ohio casinos would be filled from someone out of state. Construction jobs are temporary so their argument really doesn’t wash.

Whatever the argument, there is a lot of money being poured into the state just for the sake of arguing.

Related posts:

1. Ohio Casinos Will Disappoint
2. Video Lottery Terminals in Ohio’s Horse Racing Venues
3. Rock Gaming and Ohio Finalizing Gaming Revenue Deal
4. Rock Ohio Caesars About to be Open for Business
5. Groundbreaking Legislation Still Needs Governor’s Signature