^ I don't know if trying to reestablish manufacturing is the way to go. The manufacturing base all over the country is in severe decline, it's just cheaper to produce things in other countries. I completely agree with the point though, real economic development needs to happen in these areas.

 

There is no other choice but to re-establish manufacturing. How do we continue to be able to afford buying things that other countries make? We are constantly draining away this nation's wealth by sending it overseas. It's wealth we amassed from nearly 200 years of making stuff from natural resources. Without major reform of our trade policies, we will continue to send our wealth to poorer nations until they become richer and we become poorer. Only then might we compete with them. I don't think we should wait until America reaches that point before we choose to restore our manufacturing economy. And if we do, shame on us.

 

Entertainment, including gambling, exists only as a fun escape from productive jobs and family. Most entertainment is a form of economic development since some of it does involve creative activity by humans. Gambling doesn't fall into that category, IMHO.

I think we need to continue to invest in technology and innovation. Make money off of new ideas until they become standardized and can be done cheaper else where. There is a manufacturing component to that but it isn't the historic manufacturing base. Do I think this is an ideal system? No. But how do you make money manufacturing paying $30/hour when it can be done in other countries for $2?

 

And I completely agree that gambling is hardly economic development.

KJP is right, no economy can prosper without all elements, including manufacturing.  The service based economy is utterly non-viable.  Why?  It won't be long before emerging countries can do that comparably and more cheaply too, and they all believe in supporting their home industries (incl service).  It's already begun.  Services are being outsourced.  When we stop undercutting each other in favor of foreign bribes (discounts), whether it's in automotive or medical or whatever, our economy will stabilize.

 

In the meantime, gambling is not an economic engine.  It won't replace manufacturing any more than anything else will.  However it is a tourism draw.  Instead of 1 or 2 neighboring states having it, they all do, so really it's a tourism anti-draw for Ohio.  Come see our rust belt cities-- similar to the other ones, but with dramatically less entertainment options!  We're the lone holdout, and it's making us look increasingly foolish and backward.

But how do you make money manufacturing paying $30/hour when it can be done in other countries for $2?

 

By jacking up tariffs and/or establishing import quotas,

and/or;

Letting the natural limitations of energy supply work their magic,

and/or;

Waiting until all nations' labor pools increase their wealth to levels comparable to Americans' wages,

and/or;

Waiting until Americans become poor enough that we can compete with just about anybody!

KJP,  I agree.  I wasn't looking at gambling as a job replacement as other may be.  Purely as a form of entertainment for people to spend their money here in the state as opposed to outside. 

 

 

Instead of 1 or 2 neighboring states having it, they all do, so really it's a tourism anti-draw for Ohio.  Come see our rust belt cities-- similar to the other ones, but with dramatically less entertainment options!  We're the lone holdout, and it's making us look increasingly foolish and backward.

 

Very foolish!

 

Transfer of wealth to neighboring states, pure and simple.

 

Until WE recognize this and mobilize something better than what HAS been offered, .......well this trend continues to suck money OUT OF OHIO.

KJP is right, no economy can prosper without all elements, including manufacturing.  The service based economy is utterly non-viable.  Why?  It won't be long before emerging countries can do that comparably and more cheaply too, and they all believe in supporting their home industries (incl service).  It's already begun.  Services are being outsourced.  When we stop undercutting each other in favor of foreign bribes (discounts), whether it's in automotive or medical or whatever, our economy will stabilize.

 

 

I would like to point out that the U.S. accounts for 1/4th of the world's manufacturing production, 1/3rd of the world's service production and 15% of agricultural production. We're the second largest exporter of manufactured goods. We're the largest exporter of services. Says so in a book called "Global Shift" printed in 2007. This country alone gets 15% of the world's foreign direct investment.

 

Remember, it wasn't but 10 years ago that we were afraid of Japan taking over the world with the technology sector. Now look - we're both competative and and have an extremely similar business culture.

 

That's true. But look at trends and look our balance of trade payments. That trend cannot be sustained over the long term before this country is sucked dry and collapses in on itself.

Press release I got via email:

 

MYOHIONOW MOVES FORWARD WITH NEW CASINO PLAN

 

(Cleveland, Ohio-11/05/08)- MyOhioNow.com co-founders Rick Lertzman and Dr. Brad

Pressman discussed today their plan to move forward in a revised plan to  bring

casino gambling in Ohio. This plan would include possible additional sites in

Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Youngstown, Toledo and other areas in the

state.

“First we would like to thank our staff, volunteers and friends who have worked

hard to pass Issue 6 , that would have benefited all of Ohio. We are very

appreciative of our partners at Lakes Entertainment who had the strength and

vision in their support to pass Issue 6. We are proud to have had a visionary

like Lyle Berman to bring his incredible skills to create a project that would

have been an exceptional resort/casino for Ohio,” said Rick Lertzman, co-founder

of MyOhioNow.

“Passing an issue that involves casino gambling in Ohio is a difficult

proposition. In our campaign for Issue 6, MyOhioNow was far outspent by the Vote

No on 6 Pac that was funded by Penn National/Argosy Casinos. With a reported $50

million campaign (approximately over $1 million dollars per day) waged by Penn

National Argosy Casino against Issue 6, with false and misleading ads, confused

Ohio voters and was certainly a roadblock to allowing this issue to succeed,”

continued Mr. Lertzman.

“The sad outcome of this defeat is that the 10,000 Ohio jobs that would have

been created by this project have now been lost. There are hundreds of millions

of dollars in revenues that are now lost and the $600 million dollar

construction that would have been the largest investment in Ohio in the 21st

century will not occur. However, Argosy Casino will continue to reap millions of

dollars from Ohioans along with jobs remaining in Indiana.”

Dr. Brad Pressman, co-founder of MyOhioNow said,”However, we remain optimistic.

We know there is a large base that supports the idea of a casino in Ohio which

remains strong.  With that in mind,  MyOhioNow has decided on its own to move

forward. We will correct any perceived flaws with the initiative. We have also

decided to encompass the entire state and will create additional sites for

casinos throughout Ohio. We are talking with investors statewide. This certainly

means an opportunity for Northeast, Northwest, Central, Southeast and Southwest

Ohio. We will continue to focus on our project in Clinton County. “

MyOhioNow currently plans to submit a revised initiative to the Ohio Attorney

General  by early next year (2009) to enable the group to collect signatures to

place the revised issue before voters for the November 2009 general election.

For more information: Rick Lertzman 216 926 2661 0r Brad Pressman 216 780 5965

 

 

 

So does this mean 50,000 jobs will be made because of this new plan, since it's in 5 cities?? I doubt it. That's why i think the original plan of 10,000 was in question.

That's true. But look at trends and look our balance of trade payments. That trend cannot be sustained over the long term before this country is sucked dry and collapses in on itself.

 

What trend? Everyone was complaining about how we devalued our currency saying we were going to collapse because of it, but it stimulated our exports in both services and manufacturing. Either way, pessimists on this site come up with a doomsday scenario. Its mostly a problem with China - and one that could easily be fixed with WTO agreements, especially since Obama will be in office.

It is a better idea to include casinos in other portions of the state.  The Cleveland/Cuyahoga area has been historically the most receptive to the casino issue, however with the distant location of the casino in the brutal Issue 6, Clevelanders yawned.  (Pre-election polling showed 58% of people in Cleveland were leaning toward no)  The casino issues posed have all been terrible, offerrng favors to selected owners and that just pisses regular folks like me off.  That does nothing to overcome the strong anti-gambling base in Ohio.

 

 

 

 

Exactly. How many people would consider going to Wilmington for the casino? If we're going to have casinos, we might as well put them in great locations that make it a real destination. Personally I want to see a casino occupying City Center mall in Columbus.

By and by, it is 4 casino votes rejected in the last 18 years per the Dispatch.

The last initiative to pass casino gambling was the whole learn and earn thing which was rejected by a 57% to 43% margin in 2006. This time around it was rejected 63% to 37% but you can see the votes for yes on this issues were communities near the proposed site and the no votes obviously the further you got from the site for the most part.

 

This kind of shows that people aren't really just against gambling but want to have some part of it in their vicinity. The initiative in 2006 was closer to passing then most of the other measures yet it only included basically the Cleveland area. I honestly wonder if we used the same wording for 2006 and simply included Columbus and Cincinnati into the mix if it would have passed or at least been very very close.

this one deserved to go down.

 

ideally one day there should be one casino in each sector of the five ohios, but no more. the state needs to control them, or maintain majority control. that means no vegas, trump, ballys, indian tribes, etc.. just as importantly imo, each needs to built in a grand style. something to be proud of, ie., bill sponsors should wear 'wwjbd?' wristbands (what would james bond do?).  :laugh:  if that was the basic scheme instead, i bet the voters would go for it.

 

 

 

I think the original 1990 proposal was the best of the four, with or without Lorain being the pilot location.  The 1996 proposal was for riverboats only, and it excluded Columbus and Toledo from any action.  Learn and Earn was tied to the horse tracks, and I'm sorry, but if Cleveland is getting casinos, we can do a lot better than Northfield Park for location.  This past proposal was doomed from the start with only one location.

 

Here's the 1990 ballot initiative from ballotpedia.oirg:

 

1.To authorize the licensing of a casino resort hotel, including games by electronic and mechanical devices, for profit, in the City of Lorain as a pilot project for a period not yet specified, but for not less than five years, if approved by the voters of the City of Lorain pursuant to laws required to be enacted by the general assembly.

 

2.To allow the voters of the City of Lorain to vote on the continuation of the casino after the expiration of the pilot period.

 

3.If after three years the Lorain pilot project is determined by the general assembly to be a success, then the state shall be divided into seven districts. A license to establish a single casino facility in each district may be issued if approved by the voters both in the district and in the political subdivision in which the facility would be located.

 

4.To levy taxes on gross revenues of games of chance at licensed casinos, on the state lottery, and on horse-racing with pari-mutuel wagering for education and treatment of compulsive gambling, and to levy taxes on gross revenues of games of chance at licensed casinos for other special purposes. (Art. XV, Sec. 6)

 

 

Very insightful comments, MrNyc, buckeye1, and Ctownrocks! :hi:

It is a better idea to include casinos in other portions of the state.  The Cleveland/Cuyahoga area has been historically the most receptive to the casino issue, however with the distant location of the casino in the brutal Issue 6, Clevelanders yawned.  (Pre-election polling showed 58% of people in Cleveland were leaning toward no)  The casino issues posed have all been terrible, offerrng favors to selected owners and that just pisses regular folks like me off.  That does nothing to overcome the strong anti-gambling base in Ohio.

 

Did anybody else get a robo-call from Jim Brown? Jim just let it loose against issue 6, talking how it won't work. They probably selected him due to his pull in Cleveland.

Continued from the Columbus City Center thread

 

---

I agree...keep the money in Ohio...to much flows out.  People gamble, period.  Spend in Columbus!

 

Why policitians always play it so weirdly on this issue never ceases to amaze me.  Who do they think they are kidding? 

 

And anything is better than abandoned storefronts, which not only looks depressing, but IS depressing.

 

I, personally, have not seen a gambling proposal that is structure fair for all of Ohio.

 

I, as a person with a lot of disposable income, would not trot off to the middle of nowhere to gamble. The areas proposed for a casino aren't going to be desireable those who can afford to stay there and gamble, nor convienient to get to.  A casino will never generate spin off development, as they tend to keep the development confined inside their individual property.  So if this casino is built, it will be the major employer and when the economy sours, the casino/entertainment/travel/gaming industry will suffer and the local area will then suffer.

 

If a Casino is built in or adjacent to an area like the banks or on Cleveland's Flats or East 55/lakefront area.  It then has an opportunity to raise the bar and be a part of CONTINUING development.  As they already have an "entertainment" aspect.  Places which are destinations.

I think it's the casinos themselves that are pushing for isolated locations because they are then able to gather all the dining and entertainment revenue from anyone's trip.  That said I've never seen obvious retail or dining spin-off's, even in Atlantic City (I don't think Las Vegas counts in this discussion), and certainly not around urban casinos in downtowns like Harrah's in downtown New Orleans or the one in downtown Niagra Falls.  I have however seen these casinos full of hundreds of totally pathetic people throwing away their money and then bragging about how much they lost and replaying some tragic turning point on the craps table.  Gambling advocates will never concede that gambling preys on addicts, on people who seriously do not understand that the odds are against them, and do nothing to benefit their immediate surroundings.  The Indiana boats have done absolutely nothing to improve the built character of their corresponding river towns.  Lawrenceburg, IN is still awash in empty lots and low-rent properties, a decade after Argosy opened.  Sure, casino traffic contributes to auto-oriented junk on the state highway leading to it, but the historic town has seen nothing.  This is because the casino workers like the gamblers themselves have enormous automobile commutes from the surrounding countryside.     

I think it's the casinos themselves that are pushing for isolated locations because they are then able to gather all the dining and entertainment revenue from anyone's trip.  That said I've never seen obvious retail or dining spin-off's, even in Atlantic City (I don't think Las Vegas counts in this discussion), and certainly not around urban casinos in downtowns like Harrah's in downtown New Orleans or the one in downtown Niagra Falls.  I have however seen these casinos full of hundreds of totally pathetic people throwing away their money and then bragging about how much they lost and replaying some tragic turning point on the craps table.  Gambling advocates will never concede that gambling preys on addicts, on people who seriously do not understand that the odds are against them, and do nothing to benefit their immediate surroundings.  The Indiana boats have done absolutely nothing to improve the built character of their corresponding river towns.  Lawrenceburg, IN is still awash in empty lots and low-rent properties, a decade after Argosy opened.  Sure, casino traffic contributes to auto-oriented junk on the state highway leading to it, but the historic town has seen nothing.  This is because the casino workers like the gamblers themselves have enormous automobile commutes from the surrounding countryside.     

 

Ahh..ahh..ahh.  On New Orleans.  I purposely left New Orleans (or Reno), as those cities had a strong and unique dining, Hotel and entertainment scene prior to the casino opening.  The casino was just an added attraction to an existing entertainment area.

 

I think a casino in Cleveland in the flats or the Banks wouldn't take away from the surrounding area or become a strain on city service existing business, unlike it has in Detroit.

 

I did not include AC or Vegas because Tourism/Casino gambling is the regions sole or major industry.

If they ever get them built, Philly may be a good city to watch how it deals with urban casinos. They are considering building one on a major vacant lot in the core of Center City. There are a couple slots places elsewhere in the city already.

Multiple city casino push will gamble on host areas' support

Posted by dsims November 14, 2008 22:10PM

Download map (PDF)

 

Gambling referendums in Ohio almost always pass in the county where the casino was to be located and its neighboring counties, but voters farther away generally oppose it.  This could bode well for a new attempt to establish gambling in Ohio.  Backers of Issue 6, the most recent failed effort, say they now are planning a referendum that would establish casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Youngstown and Toledo, as well as Wilmington in Clinton County.  For the new, multicity gambling initiative to succeed, the question might be whether it could generate enough "yes" votes in the casino counties, plus enough "yes" votes from nearby counties to offset the "no" votes statewide.

 

John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, said the strategy might have merit.  "Ohio voters tend to oppose gambling on moral grounds and those concerns may be mitigated by the promise of economic development and jobs in their own communities," Green said.  "Casinos elsewhere offer no such benefits to allay moral scruples."  Statewide, the unofficial tally on Issue 6 was 3,352,931 (or about 62 percent) opposed, and 1,981,490 (about 37 percent) votes in favor of allowing the casino and resort.

 

For more analysis visit http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral

 

<b>New Ohio casino proposals being discussed</b>

Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Dan Monk Senior Staff Reporter

 

The former leader of a failed 2006 ballot initiative to legalize gambling in Ohio says a new proposal from Penn National Gaming Inc. is also doomed to failure.  “Nothing’s going to happen unless the governor says he wants it to happen,” predicted Charlie Ruma, owner of the Beulah Park horse track in Columbus, whose 2006 ballot issue drew yes votes from 43 percent of Ohio voters.

 

That’s the highest total for any of Ohio’s previous ballot issues to legalize casino gambling.  And it was 6 percentage points higher than last year’s attempt by MyOhioNow.com to change Ohio’s constitution to allow a single casino near Wilmington.  MyOhioNow organizers have previously indicated they’ll seek signatures for a return to the Ohio ballot in 2009.

 

The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday that Penn National has briefed state lawmakers and staff members for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland about a proposal to permit casinos at seven Ohio racetracks and four stand-alone sites in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.  Casino operators would pay more than $600 million in licensing fees and share 30 percent of gross revenue with the state, according to the paper.

 

Full article at http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/01/12/daily9.html

 

Another gambling plan in the works

 

For the third time in four years, gambling proponents – led by Argosy-owner Penn National Gaming – will roll the dice on legalizing casinos in Ohio.  But this year, they have a new weapon: Ohio’s unprecedented $7 billion budget deficit.

 

Gov. Ted Strickland and state legislative leaders say they are keeping an open mind on expanded gambling because of the state’s budget crisis and high jobless rates – a softening of what had been staunch opposition.

 

The Penn National proposal comes just two months after the Pennsylvania-based gambling company – which operates Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg and Raceway Park in Toledo – spent $38 million to defeat a ballot issue by two Cleveland-area developers to build a casino in Clinton County.  Ohio voters rejected that casino plan, the fourth gambling issue defeated here since 1990.

 

Full article at http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090112/NEWS01/301120079/1055/NEWS

Banks, Broadway, Banks ,Broadway.................................

Another failed attempt before it even gets off the ground...

 

 

Dan Gilbert, Jeff Jacobs and rival casino groups join for new Ohio ballot proposal

Posted by Reginald Fields/Plain Dealer Columbus Bureau Chief

February 25, 2009 13:36PM

 

CLEVELAND — Two rival casino groups are teaming up to back a plan that would bring four full-fledged casinos to Ohio, destination spots complete with hotels, entertainment venues and restaurants, The Plain Dealer has learned.  The group backing the plan -- led by Penn National Gaming and My Ohio Now-- would also include Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and Cleveland businessman Jeff Jacobs, sources have told the paper.

 

The group is gearing up to start collecting signatures to get an initiative on this November's ballot.  The ballot language would first have to be approved the state attorney general's office.  One casino would be in Cleveland, though not in the Flats area where Jacobs owns property, the sources said.  The other locations would be in Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo -- all urban centers.

 

It does not appear that any of the locations would involve horse race tracks, which had also been considered possible casino locations, as they are in other states.

 

More at http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2009/02/rivals_to_join_forces_for_casi.html

^Why do you say it's failed before it even gets off the ground?

I hope not.

We do not need a casino in the city yet. 

Yes we do, right now.  We need one because we're the only city in our "bracket" that doesn't at least have one nearby.

Yes we do, right now.  We need one because we're the only city in our "bracket" that doesn't at least have one nearby.

 

oh please.  If every other city was jumping off a bridge, would you suggest that for Cleveland.  It's not needed and a drain on resources.

 

Put it this way, it's a drain on any neighborhood it would go into at this time.  Why you ask?  It's like tower city, drawing anything and everyone OFF THE STREETS and into its web.  It's a self contained (self serving) money pit.

 

We have other issues we need to work through before asking for a Casino.

 

With so many people in financial straight and it's only going to get worse, who is going to come.  Local residents aren't going to be able to support it alone.  It's got to be all out glorious destination (spa, extended length theater/entertainment componet, restaurants, world class casino games), not just some half-assed crappy casino.  We're not even close to something like that.

 

Vegas occupancy is down more than 20%.  You can get a room at the wynn for less than $100.  that is crazy!  AC is suffering a far worse fate than Vegas.  Places like Tunica and the Gulf Coast aren't drawing any crowds either. 

 

You can't snap your fingers and wish for a project.  With the economy expected to get worse, it's a sound project.

 

Casino's are target to folks in your age group and many here are under financial constraints.  Casinos are disposable income vacuums.  Do the math.

Casino's are target to folks in your age group and many here are under financial constraints.  Casinos are disposable income vacuums.  Do the math.

 

I was once in the gaming field-- I've done plenty of that math.  Casinos' main market is the old folks who take buses every weekend away from Ohio to spend money.  Of course the casinos would love to get people my age, and they advertise to them, but that's not their bread & butter at all.  Yes there are people in my age group who enjoy gambling, and every weekend they leave Ohio to pursue their expensive hobby.  The revenues casinos produce for government are quite substantial, and could allow Ohio to rewrite its tax code.

 

The Cleveland angle is not that having them here will be a draw in itself... it's that if people are even considering a Cleveland-type city for their shindig, we have the worst possible gambling scene within that set of choices.  If we plan on having this MM/CC work at all, we can't be the only cold dirty city with no gambling options.  During the winter, a casino would make our downtown 10x more appealing to a lot of people.  It's something to do that's indoors, and goes all night, and operates on the visitor's schedule.

Ahhhh, just like tower city casinos keep people off the streets.  Nobody but the casino owner wins.

We already have a vehicle for old people to throw their money away en masse.  The Ohio Lottery.  Maybe instead of a casino, they should just dig a big hole in the ground next to a Ponderosa and we can bus seniors up to it, stuff them full of all you can eat buffet food and then let them throw their money in the hole.  It accomplishes the same thing.

Ahhhh, just like tower city casinos keep people off the streets.  Nobody but the casino owner wins.

 

Those people aren't on the streets now.  Nobody wins, under the current arrangement.  It's not like casino patrons would be stolen away from downtown's boistrous outdoor shopping scene... 

 

But those gambling here would at least be indoors in downtown Cleveland, rather than indoors in Detroit or Canada or PA.  They aren't going to be walking the streets a whole lot no matter where they are, if they're in this region at this time of year.  But they have proven that they will gamble, with money earned in Ohio, whether we let them do it here or not.  Take the revenue or don't, that's really the only question.

 

We already have a vehicle for old people to throw their money away en masse.  The Ohio Lottery.  Maybe instead of a casino, they should just dig a big hole in the ground next to a Ponderosa and we can bus seniors up to it, stuff them full of all you can eat buffet food and then let them throw their money in the hole.  It accomplishes the same thing.

 

Eliminating the lottery would shut Ohio down, fiscally.  It really is that simple.  And this will sound awful, but here we go:  the people you're talking about vote very consistently, in a bloc, against school levies.  They vote so strongly in this direction and with such immaculate turnout that they've shut down entire schools by themselves... partially so they can have more gambling money, all of which leaves the state.

Dude, you just don't get it. 

 

Again, nobody can snap their fingers and make a project appear.

 

Building a casino would be pointless UNLESS the core issues in the city are corrected.

 

I'm done.

I'm done.

 

If every casino opponent would hurry up and get done, maybe the rest of us could have something nice.  Sorry-- couldn't resist.  I do think someone would put a deal together with finger-snapping speed, as soon as they were allowed to go forward with it.  Several deals may already be done.

You guys don't see the drain out of Cincinnati with the Argosy Casino.  Believe me, that is money that is just flowing out of the state.  We're not talking about a 2-3 hour trip that someone might take once or twice a month.  We are talking about a 20 minute drive after work for a few hours.  Most of these people aren't coming from Indiana.

 

I don't look at the casinos as a savior to the cities, I see them as a way to keep money in the state.  Personally, I go a fair amount, and I don't really need Ohio casinos to satisfy my addiction.  In fact, I live close enough to Indiana that I may not change patterns even if there was one built downtown. 

 

Casinos are a fact of life. We aren't going to change it, why not get some of the benefit.

Casinos are a fact of life. We aren't going to change it, why not get some of the benefit.

 

Yes.  And it's different for Cleveland, which doesn't already have one off its outerbelt.  If nothing else, casinos would add at least one new or renovated building apiece.  And if the deal is done right, the state could get a lot of money out of it.  Gambling is too pervasive for Ohioans so inclined to not be doing it, just because we don't have it in state.  It is time to get with the program.  Just think, what if they earmarked all the state's casino revenue to public transit or historic building preservation?

That sudden chill you feel is hell freezing over!

 

DanB and 327 find something to agree upon!  :wink2:

You guys don't see the drain out of Cincinnati with the Argosy Casino. Believe me, that is money that is just flowing out of the state. We're not talking about a 2-3 hour trip that someone might take once or twice a month. We are talking about a 20 minute drive after work for a few hours. Most of these people aren't coming from Indiana.

 

I don't look at the casinos as a savior to the cities, I see them as a way to keep money in the state. Personally, I go a fair amount, and I don't really need Ohio casinos to satisfy my addiction. In fact, I live close enough to Indiana that I may not change patterns even if there was one built downtown.

 

Casinos are a fact of life. We aren't going to change it, why not get some of the benefit.

 

I went to the argosy about 4 months ago and specifically looked at the plate... Damn, nothing but OH plates (there were maybe one PA, MI, and IL, plates, but the majority was OH). It was very depressing.

IMO, that is the best argument.  The freaking money is flying out of here.  Why have it go to Erie, Windsor, W. Virginny, or wherever the hell else outside the state they are?  Those people are going to gamble, period. 

 

I don't look at the casinos as a savior to the cities, I see them as a way to keep money in the state. Personally, I go a fair amount, and I don't really need Ohio casinos to satisfy my addiction. In fact, I live close enough to Indiana that I may not change patterns even if there was one built downtown.

 

Casinos are a fact of life. We aren't going to change it, why not get some of the benefit.

 

I agree.  Many of my family members go to the casinos in Indiana.  They'll go to Argosy, Grand Victoria, and Belterra.  It would be nice to keep that tax money in Ohio. 

 

Also, if the state is really concerned that gambling is harmful to people, then why do they keep the lottery?  I think the lottery is a bigger scam than a slot machine or a craps table. 

Also, the latest proposal seems 10000x better than the MyOhio one.  I voted against it because I didn't want one casino in the constitution and the tax language seemed a little ambiguous.

Broadway.......Broadway.......Broadway.......Broadway.......Broadway.......Broadway.......!!!!

 

New Push For Casinos Could Bring Gambling To Queen City

Voters Must Pass Ballot Issue To Allow Gambling In Ohio

POSTED: 7:20 pm EST March 1, 2009

UPDATED: 8:42 pm EST March 1, 2009

 

CINCINNATI -- There’s a new push to bring casino gambling to downtown Cincinnati -- but it will require voters to say yes at the polls.  If supporters have their way, the issue will be decided this fall. Developers want to bring a casino in to replace a sea of parking lots on the edge of downtown along Broadway Commons.

 

Under the new plan, Cincinnati would get a casino and so would Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio.  Supporters said that this constitutional amendment issue should get more support than last election's Issue 6 because more cities are involved.  In the last election, the only town involved was Wilmington, Ohio.  In another twist, two groups that were on opposite sides in the last election are now working together.

 

This is the fifth attempt since 1990 to bring casino gambling to Ohio, and it represents a second chance for Broadway Commons as well.  The area had been considered and rejected as the site for the new Reds stadium before the current site of Great American Ball Park was chosen.

 

Full story at http://www.wlwt.com/news/18827061/detail.html

The 2 min video has a brief history of the site!  It looks as if every media outlet in Cincy has picked up on this story today.

 

 

Gambling Supporters Set Sights On Broadway Commons

 

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Gambling-Supporters-Set-Sights-On-Broadway-Commons/HUtNTWaGfUe5ih8uM4hg3w.cspx

Hm...i'm all for a casino being built in Cincy, but aren't casinos generally self contained and not good for street activity? It's doubtful that the casino would generate a lot of business in OTR, as these places have their own restaurants, bars, shops, etc.  I'm torn on this one because while I want Broadway Commons developed, I also want something there that will generate growth for OTR, and I don't see that happening much with a casino.

 

It is possible, however, that even if the casino does very little to bring new establishments to OTR, the Casino will still be bringing people to a corner of the city that few people visit, causing the area to at least be peceived as safer.  I don't know really...

Casinos that you can't smoke in don't do nearly as well. None of the states around us have that problem. Well, WV has a smoking ban, but I believe casinos and gambling dens are exempt. I know bars are -- most gambling dens there are technically "bars".