Ohio needs to focus on bringing in overseas investment along with a focus on high-tech industry.  I don't like the idea of casinos as a means of providing a region with an economic boost.  We already have the Ohio Lottery.  Leave well enough alone.

I'm on the fence, but I am starting to leans towards it, just thinking about all the dollars leaving the State for every state surrounding Ohio. If it does past I hope the state doesn't try to use gambling as an economic savior, but just as money to get us by as we are still transitioning the economy to more service and knowledge based jobs.

From the 4/7/06 Canton Repository:

 

Casino moves closer to vote in Massillon

Friday, April 7, 2006

BY Benjamin Duer

REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER

 

MASSILLON - A casino resort project’s future could rest with the voters.  The Eastern Shawnee tribe of Oklahoma and local businessman Steve DiPietro have proposed a casino resort development to city officials.

 

Council members voted 7-2 to show interest in the project Monday night but calls to have voters make the final say were expressed.  Council President Glenn Gamber took the first step to a ballot issue Thursday.  He obtained preliminary costs and other information on a ballot issue saying, “We’re getting our ducks lined up.”

 

Voters have two ways to put an issue on an election ballot — initiative or referendum petition.  An initiative puts a proposed city ordinance on a ballot.  A referendum places an existing law on the ballot.

 

Full article at http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=279068&r=0&Category=9&external=&newCookie=yes&userID=234986

 

From the 4/9/06 Massillon Independent:

 

Group tells cities not to gamble on future

Sunday, April 9, 2006

By CHRIS PUGH

[email protected]

 

An official with the Ohio Roundtable said she’s glad Massillon City Council will have more time to study a proposed intergovernmental agreement with the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.  Melanie Elsey, legislative director of the group, attended both meetings at council chambers as a representative of the Ohio Roundtable, a conservative group that has been fighting the Eastern Shawnee around the state.  “We believe the expansion of gambling is not healthy for local communities, and it will cause harm,” she said.

 

Last week, council approved a resolution of interest.  According to Mason Morisset, the tribe’s lead attorney in a federal lawsuit that claims land in more than 30 Ohio counties, the resolution was designed to give council more time to decide on whether to sign an intergovernmental agreement with the tribe – which he says is a crucial step in bringing a casino to Massillon.

 

On Friday, Elsey said, the state filed an objection to the Shawnee’s request for an extension.  The state has also filed numerous motions aimed at dismissing the lawsuit altogether.

 

Full article at http://www.indeonline.com/left.php?ID=6473&r=5&Category=1

From the 4/13/06 PD:

 

 

Proposed ballots for slots rejected

Petro wants 24-hour gambling spelled out

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Tom Breckenridge

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Attorney General Jim Petro has rejected ballot language for all three proposals for electronic slots, saying they must plainly tell voters that gambling venues could operate up to 24 hours a day.  Petro's action on Wednesday opens the door for groups behind two of the proposals - the Learn and Earn committee and the Greater Cleveland Partnership - to find unity in plans to amend the Ohio Constitution and allow expanded gambling.

 

Learn and Earn, backed by six of seven horsetracks in Ohio, along with Forest City Enterprises Inc. and developer Jeff Jacobs, would raise more than $900 million a year for college tuition and economic development, with slots at racetracks, two sites in Cleveland and one in Cincinnati.  By 2010, voters in counties hosting the slots parlors could vote to expand them to offer table games.

 

The Greater Cleveland Partnership says it could back the proposal, except for one thing - it wants operators to pay a one-time, $30 million licensing fee at each site. 

 

Full article at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1144917144304960.xml&coll=2

 

I hope casinos never get built anywhere near Cincinnati.  Last thing we need is to drain all of our residents. The average person doesn't understand statistics. When you go to a casino you have a greater chance of losing. If you had a greater chance of winning, then the casino wouldn't be in business. It's the same people that only buy lottery tickets when the jackpot is extremely high... not realizing that they have a greater chance of winning the pot if it's lower, and even if it's say...10 million, that's still a hell of a lot more money than they will see in their lifetime.

I'm on the fence, but I am starting to leans towards it, just thinking about all the dollars leaving the State for every state surrounding Ohio. If it does past I hope the state doesn't try to use gambling as an economic savior, but just as money to get us by as we are still transitioning the economy to more service and knowledge based jobs.

Lets assume for example that Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky all become gambling states because they are all competing for money. If people in these states don't have to travel so far, then everyone just goes to their local casino. That results in no tourism at all and a lot of people would rather just go to vegas instead of driving for hours to a casino. Unless you can compete with Vegas (which no city can) then it's not going to make much economic impact. Vegas is like the Walmart of the Casino world. Casinos are extremely over rated. It's a quick fix, and if they want an area to grow, and bring in revenue, they need to bring in companies that will provide products and services that are needed from the "outside". THAT is what makes a city dominant. If our economy plunged, Vegas would be FUCKED. Vegas relies on tourism and when people are broke, the first thing they cut is vacations.

Except that...

 

One major reason to push for casinos is the increase in Convention business. There are plenty of organizations out there who weigh casinos/nightlife when choosing a convention spot. That's the area of benefit not available to Lawrenceburg or most areas of Kentucky.

From the 4/11/06 Massillon Independent:

 

Mayor: Casino a ‘long shot’

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

By MATTHEW RINK

[email protected]

 

Massillon Mayor Frank Cicchinelli believes the odds of a casino landing on 400 acres of vacant industrial land are “a long shot,” he said Monday in a meeting with The Independent editorial board.

 

Cicchinelli expressed skepticism about the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma’s plan to build a resort-style casino, and questioned whether the city should give up control of the land, which could become a sovereign nation and out of the reach of city and state law if the tribe succeeds in its land-claim lawsuit in U.S. District Court.

 

Casino gambling is “probably inevitable” in Ohio, he said, but only possible in Massillon if the tribe successfully wins or settles its lawsuit.  The city’s role hinges on the outcome of the tribe’s lawsuit and the time it takes to resolve, he said, noting that even if it wins, there will likely be an appeal.

 

Full article at http://www.indeonline.com/archive/left_archive.php?ID=6533&r=0

 

From the 4/12/06 Massillon Independent:

 

Casino faces legal hurdles

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

By MATTHEW RINK

[email protected]

 

The process of bringing casino gaming to Massillon could be long and cumbersome for the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, says a Michigan attorney who specializes in Indian gaming deals.

 

“The question is whether there is a valid, meritorious land-claim dispute, and that is going to be decided in the courts,” said Nelson W. Westrin, who recently completed a three-year appointment as the vice chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, which oversees the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

 

Placing a casino on the former Republic Steel site, a 400-acre tract of land in the 400 block of Oberlin Ave. S.W., is premature, he said.  “The tribe and city can negotiate,” he said, “but what authority does a city have to negotiate with a tribal government relative to conduct that isn’t even legal in the state of Ohio?”

 

Full article at http://www.indeonline.com/archive/left_archive.php?ID=6545&r=0

From the 4/14/06 Massillon Independent:

 

Developer acquires Massillon Stainless

Friday, April 14, 2006

By DOUG STALEY

[email protected]

 

Steve DiPietro now has 75 more acres to develop along the Tuscarawas River in Massillon.  Attorneys for the former Massillon Stainless and DiPietro reached a court settlement during a mediation session Tuesday morning in Stark County Common Pleas Court.  Terms of the settlement, which enabled DiPietro to take possession of the property, were not released.

 

DiPietro, who already owns the former Republic Steel site, which consists of more than 300 acres, said he attempted to buy the property from India-based Jindal Strips Ltd., the former owner of Stainless, several years ago but said the case got tied up in court after he bought the liens on the property.

 

DiPietro is exploring the possibility of bringing a resort-style casino to Massillon.  Manufacturing also could be part of the development puzzle.

 

Full article at http://www.indeonline.com/archive/left_archive.php?Category=4

 

A piece from the 4/16/06 PD:

 

 

Competing proposals jeopardize casino bids

Gambling push hobbled before it begins

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Tom Breckenridge

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

A campaign believed to have the best chance of bringing casinos to Ohio bolted from the starting gate in late March, promising college tuitions and an economic boost for the struggling state.  Three weeks later, the Learn and Earn campaign appears to be cramping up, challenged by a hard-charging Toledo racetrack and Cleveland-area leaders pressing for more local money.

 

Many question whether the Learn and Earn proposal, or the Education YES proposal, touted by Penn National Gaming Inc., owner of the Toledo track, will make it to the finish line: the Nov. 7 ballot.  Competing proposals serve to confuse voters "and make it less likely anything gets on the ballot, or passes," said Donald Mottley, a former Dayton-area state legislator who led a 2001 study of electronic-slots gambling in Ohio.

 

Proponents need to unite behind one proposal, or the groups may decide not to file for the November ballot because the timing is not right, Mottley said last week.  "You get more voter confusion, the busier the ballot gets," Mottley said.  "It's unlikely both would pass, and it increases the chance that both would fail."

 

Full article at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1145176834144580.xml&coll=2

 

From the 4/19/06 Massillon Independent:

 

PHOTO: Scrap still litters the former Republic Steel property.  PHOTO BY GLENN B. DETTMAN/THE INDEPENDENT

 

EPA rules site safe

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

By MATTHEW RINK

[email protected]

 

The Republic Steel site, where developers want to build a resort-style casino, is in relatively good shape for an aging industrial brownfield, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency officials say. “We have no major concerns,” said Harry Courtright, environmental supervisor of the Hazardous Waste Management division. “It’s an old steel mill, therefore it’s contaminated. A lot of times the contamination is not extensive, and the property can be reused safely. You just want to be sure.”

 

The EPA wants to test ground water and a 25-acre slag pile on site. “In terms of gross contamination that meets the eye, the only real concern is the slag pile in the area where the buildings are being razed,” said John Palmer, environmental specialist for the Hazardous Waste Management division. “Other than that, it doesn’t look much different from any other industrial site.”

 

Courtright said state EPA representatives have met with developer Steve DiPietro regularly since he took over the land in January 2004 – and as recent as the last two months – to discuss cleanup. DiPietro wants the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma to build a casino on his property. The tribe is suing several municipalities throughout the state to reclaim land it occupied until the 1830s. Though Massillon is not specifically named in the suit, it could be part of a settlement.

 

Full article at http://www.indeonline.com/archive/left_archive.php?ID=6640&r=1

Why does the state legislature continue to screw things up?!?!?!?  So a company that has more interests in Indiana than Ohio wins out in a lobbying bid to not allow gambling in Cincinnati.  I thought that this movement was to fight back against the neighboring states that are stealing money out of Ohio coffers.  I guess not, political stupidity wins out again in Columbus and once again Cincinnati feels the pain. :wtf:

 

 

Cincinnati loser in casino bid

Ohio ballot language revised after lobbying by Argosy

BY JON CRAIG | ENQUIRER COLUMBUS BUREAU

 

COLUMBUS - Cincinnati would no longer get slot machines under a revised statewide ballot issue.  The latest proposed constitutional amendment, delivered to Attorney General Jim Petro's office Monday, calls for slot machines at Ohio's seven horse-racing tracks - including River Downs in Anderson Township and Lebanon Raceway in Warren County.  It also proposes slot parlors at two Cleveland sites.  Each location could operate up to 3,500 slot machines.

 

The plan no longer includes a Cincinnati slot parlor within three miles of Fountain Square, as was proposed in the March 24 ballot initiative by the Learn and Earn Committee.  Penn National Gaming, which owns Raceway Park in Toledo and the Argosy casino in Lawrenceburg, lobbied against a Cincinnati casino.  Former Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken, now a member of the Ohio State Racing Commission, called Monday's development "a mixed bag" of good and bad news.  "Given Argosy's tremendous investment in their facility, I would imagine the downtown Cincinnati facility was compromised out," he said.

 

More at http://www.enquirer.com

This sucks ass - pure BS politics. What, there are still two other gambling measures so maybe all three will past and this one will get dump for the fewest votes.

  This may be a stretch, but does this sort of violate ANTITRUST LAW which is supposed to prohibit MONOPOLIES from forming?

  IMO the Argosy Casino would be a MONOPOLY, putting a stranglehold on profits in the Cincinnati region?

 

  On another note, a small boycott of the Argosy may already be under way. Most of the people I work with go to the Argosy once an a while, and they were all pissed off to hear this news. They have all decided to boycott the Argosy and are going to try to convince their friends and family to join in, and so on and so forth.....

  I assume my company is not the only one with people pissed about this.

  I don't know if this would even make a dent in their profits, but if enough people join in, maybe a small message could be sent to Penn National Gaming and to our sorry ass politicians who are kissing ass and probably got paid off.

 

I have mixed feelings about having a casino open in downtown Cincinnati, but this really makes me made.  Argosy has enough power to do this?  And I'm upset that the politicians allowed this!

What, there are still two other gambling measures so maybe all three will past and this one will get dump for the fewest votes.

 

Unfortunately, there's a pretty strong possibility that the three competing proposals will merge.  We'll get the shaft.

 

---

From the 4/25/06 PD:

 

Slots ballot filing tries to unite competing gambling interests

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Joe Guillen

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

A new Ohio slots proposal could unify conflicting campaigns and increase the odds that voters would support gambling in the upcoming election.  Ohio's Learn and Earn committee on Monday filed with the Ohio attorney general a revised version of its proposal, which includes apparent compromises with two rival campaigns.

 

The committee believes the other two groups - Education Yes and the Greater Cleveland Partnership - will support the latest proposal, according to a written statement.  If all three groups back one proposal, creating a unified pro-gambling effort, the confusion of competing proposals could be reduced.

 

But Andrew Bowers, a spokesman for Education Yes, said the committee's suggestion that all parties like the new proposal is "very premature."  Education Yes is collecting voter signatures to get its own slots proposal on the November ballot, Bowers said.

 

Full article at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1145954343127950.xml&coll=2

 

This is starting to sound very lopsided. They should just called it "Cleveland's Jonesin for Gambling" ballot. Just having slots at horse tracks won't slow down people going to Indiana.

WOW a 60 million dollar fee is simply amazing.

Those casinos can bring in a net profit of over 20 million dollars a year and revenue over 200 million a year so I don't think the owners will be suffering.

Simply Amazing :|

 

City, county miss casino cash

Argosy owner says it wants best bet on ballot

BY JON CRAIG AND MARLA ROSE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITERS

 

COLUMBUS - Cincinnati and Hamilton County would have shared $20 million in annual gambling profits from a downtown site that was dropped Monday from the latest plan to bring slot machines to Ohio.  Statewide, net profits to the state for college scholarships and to local governments for economic development are expected to top $2.8 billion a year, based on 31,400 slot machines each making $250 daily.

 

The original proposal by the Ohio Learn and Earn Committee envisioned an electronic slot machine parlor at Broadway Commons.  That plan was dropped under pressure from Penn National Gaming, lobbyists and horse-track owners say. Penn National owns Argosy casino in Lawrenceburg and Raceway Park in Toledo.  Proponents are pushing only for legalized slot machines, not a full-scale casino including other forms of gambling - such as poker, roulette and other table games.

 

Full article at http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060426/NEWS01/604260342/1056/rss02

 

This still sucks. but if the measure passes it looks like the county and city will split $20 million. It could of been $40 miilion and have Broadway Commons developed. Of course, a ton of jobs would a been created for the very people that  need jobs, but no.

"It was full-scale gaming," he said. "Based on our own research, we thought our own proposal of just expanding in the existing locations had a better chance of winning. We wanted to offer voters an option that had the best chance of support."

 

"This latest proposal sounds like a compromise between the two," Schippers said. "We haven't seen that much visible support in Cincinnati for a full-scale casino."

 

 

 

WOW!!! I don't think I've ever had that much smoke blown up my ass all at once! :-o

From the 4/27/06 PD:

 

 

Court rejects peace talks on Indian casinos in Ohio

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Bill Sloat

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Cincinnati -- A federal judge has rejected calls for peace talks in Gov. Bob Taft's all-out legal war opposing Indian casinos in Ohio.  Lima Mayor David Berger, in a letter earlier this month, said he favored holding settlement talks with an Oklahoma Indian tribe.  Dennis Shaffer, mayor of the Lima suburb of Fort Shawnee, also said there should be negotiations.

 

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe wants to build gambling casinos in several locations across Ohio, including Lordstown and Massillon in Northeast Ohio, and launched its land claim in Toledo federal court 10 months ago.  The Indians hope to regain ties to a swath of real estate covering 36 of Ohio's 88 counties.  They contend that treaty rights and other bonds to their ancestral homelands were illegally severed in the early 1800s when the tribe was resettled as whites moved in.

 

Their claim includes Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, as well as the area around Lima, and extends far into Appalachian counties along the Ohio River.

 

Full article at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/114612716293630.xml&coll=2

 

From the 4/28/06 PD:

 

 

Cleveland business leaders ready to back new slots plan

Friday, April 28, 2006

Tom Breckenridge

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Cleveland's business honchos are ready to back a new slots proposal that would deliver an estimated $80 million yearly for local economic development and set up Cuyahoga County with the only full-fledged casinos in the state.  A rebel racetrack with a competing plan is also deciding whether to embrace the new proposal from the Learn and Earn committee, supported by Ohio's six other horse tracks, businessman Jeff Jacobs and Forest City Enterprises Inc.  Learn and Earn has been negotiating for months with the Greater Cleveland Partnership, which represents area businesses, and with Cuyahoga County commissioners and Mayor Frank Jackson.

 

In revised ballot language submitted this week to the Ohio attorney general's office, Learn and Earn struck a compromise that includes placing up to 3,500 slots at each of nine sites - the state's seven horse tracks and two sites in downtown Cleveland that are owned by Jacobs and Forest City.  Learn and Earn dropped a proposed casino for downtown Cincinnati. That would mean a larger cut of gambling revenues for Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, which would split some $80 million a year for economic development, according to Learn and Earn estimates eyeballed by the business partnership.

 

Full article at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/114621316823960.xml&coll=2

 

From the 4/29/06 PD:

 

 

Support for slots is fading, poll shows

Half are opposed to either proposal

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Tom Breckenridge

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Half of Ohioans say they don't like either of two proposals to set up slot machines here, meaning slots backers face a costly, difficult battle to turn the tide.  A Plain Dealer poll shows that only four in 10 respondents favored the two proposals to open slots parlors in Ohio.  Half were against, with the rest undecided.

 

The poll of 625 registered voters was done this week by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. of Washington, D.C.  The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.  The results show that the state's slots supporters need to unify their dueling campaigns and focus their resources for an uphill fight, observers and gambling proponents say.

 

"If we don't have one message, I think you'll have confusion," said Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan.  "It should be one message about educating kids with the [gambling] money that right now is going to other states."  Cuyahoga County commissioners back the "Learn and Earn" plan, proposed by six of the state's seven horse track owners, along with Forest City Enterprises Inc. and businessman Jeff Jacobs.  Learn and Earn calls for slots parlors at horse tracks and two sites in downtown Cleveland.

 

Full article at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1146299717124790.xml&coll=2

 

<i>Interesting the Cleveland poll shows support fading. The Enquirer poll shows on average over 60% approved of some form of gambling. I can't believe how oblivious our local business leaders and politicians are to the potential of a casino DT. Maybe they will wake up and get an amendment added to the ballot language. Something, anything.</i>

 

Viva Las Vegas in Lawrenceburg, Ind.

BY PETER BRONSON | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

Picture this: Sleepy little Mayberry goes Vegas. Sheriff Andy Taylor drives a tricked-out Cadillac cruiser with gold rims. Barney takes a job as a blackjack dealer. Aunt Bee uses the egg money to hit the big score in a Texas Hold 'em tournament. With a little retouching, that snapshot could be Lawrenceburg - just 30 minutes from Cincinnati and "ready to go," as those catchy casino ads say.

 

In 1995 B.C. (before casino), Lawrenceburg had an annual budget of about $4 million and sometimes had to borrow to pay its bills, said City Manager Tom Steidel. Eleven years later, the town of about 5,000 gets $30 million a year from Argosy Casino. Once upon a time, last week's news that the local Seagram's plant might turn the lights out on 400 jobs would have been devastating. It's still a big deal, but a new Argosy boat as big as a super Wal-Mart is on the way to bring 1,200 jobs in 18 months.

 

Gambling has given Lawrenceburg a new college, a new office building for 11 new doctors, repaved streets, new fire and police stations, and a Bicentennial Clock Tower on High Street with four-story riverboat smokestacks that remind everyone of what makes the town's paddlewheels churn. Lawrenceburg's riverboat ship has come in.

 

Full article at http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060430/COL05/604300353/1009/EDIT

 

From the 4/29/06 Massillon Independent:

 

In Massillon, caution prevails

Saturday, April 29, 2006

By MATTHEW RINK

[email protected]

 

Though Canal Fulton officials are putting their chips on the table, Massillon City Council will hold ’em, not fold ’em in the card game where the stakes are a resort-style casino and a couple thousand jobs.

 

But Radi Smiley says fold. “They (Massillon City Council) should let it go for now,” he said.

 

Smiley, manager of his family’s eatery, Smiley’s Ristorante & Pizzeria, believes Massillon residents don’t have the money to spend at a casino. “I don’t think it’s right for this time period because of the economy,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to provide a lot of jobs. There are a lot of expectations from a lot of people."

 

Full article at http://www.indeonline.com/left.php?ID=6764&r=1&Category=1

 

Or,

 

 

Why we lost casino

Analysis: City didn't push as Cleveland did

BY MARLA MATZER ROSE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

When Cincinnati and Hamilton County were dealt out last week from a proposal to legalize casinos in Ohio, the two governments came up losers to the tune of a potential $20 million in annual gambling taxes.  Voters still may be asked to allow slot machines at racetracks in Anderson Township and Lebanon.  But who's to blame for Cincinnati being cut out of the proposal, while Cleveland still is in the running for two casinos? The answer may be that Cincinnati wasn't comfortable at the table.

 

Cleveland's business and political leadership has largely taken a pro-gambling stance, while Cincinnati as a whole has presented a less united front.  "There hasn't been the same upfront support from the CBC (Cincinnati Business Committee) as there has been from the Greater Cleveland Partnership," said Neil Bortz, one of a handful of local business leaders who backed a statewide gaming study last year spearheaded by the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

 

Full article at http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060430/NEWS01/604300377/1056/rss02

 

From the 5/2/06 Dayton Daily News:

 

 

Gambling backers agree on one plan

By Shaheen Samavati

Staff Writer

 

COLUMBUS | There will likely be just one gambling issue on the Nov. 7 ballot, which over time could lead to casinos at four locations in the Cleveland area.  The interests of three groups with different proposals aimed at bringing slot machines to Ohio racetracks were consolidated Monday.  "There was a general understanding that having competing initiatives on the same ballot would have been expensive, difficult and confusing to voters," said Amanda Marko, a spokeswoman for the Greater Cleveland Partnership, which represents businesses in the area.

 

Last week, the partnership's executive committee came to a compromise with the Ohio Legacy Fund, a group representing six of the seven racetrack owners and two Cleveland developers.  The seventh racetrack owner, Penn National Gaming Inc., came on board Monday.  The new plan, headed by the legacy fund, would allow 3,500 slot machines at the seven racetracks statewide and two stand-alone parlors in downtown Cleveland. The state and local communities would get a portion of the gambling proceeds.

 

Full article at http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060502/NEWS09/605020352/-1/NEWS

 

I love all the quality articles the Cincinnati papers publish regarding this issue. They got it all covered.

Proposal supports slot site

BY DAN KLEPAL | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

Some members of Cincinnati City Council are ready to bet on the idea of bringing a casino to downtown - or else.  Council members Leslie Ghiz and Jim Tarbell say they will introduce a resolution to the city's Finance Committee on Monday that insists Broadway Commons be included as a location for a future slot parlor on a statewide ballot referendum.  If Cincinnati is not included, the resolution threatens that the city will work against the initiative.

 

A proposed change to Ohio's constitution would allow gambling on slots in Ohio for the first time.  Slot machines at racetracks - including River Downs in Anderson Township and Lebanon Raceway in Warren County - would be the first step.  If that is approved, local voters would then have the right to vote the slot parlor at Broadway Commons in 2010.

 

Full article at http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060506/NEWS01/605060398/1077

Wow, a logical, reasonable, intelligent plan by City Counsel. Who would of thunk it. Cleveland better be listening. There are serious gamblers in Cincy, give'em what they want.

<i>Again, the Post scores a far more detailed article and some interesting quotes. It sounds like Mr. Eichelbaum is trying to protect his own self interests What retail? It's a surface lot! I'm amazed that Counsel just gets it. How can you have a statewide ballot and only Cleveland benefits. The last comment from Eichelbaum is pretty funny. Phil Heimlich is against it because of his creepy religious views as he probably spends his summer weekends at every Church Gambling Beer Chugging Festival in the county.</i>

 

 

<b>City leaders want casino option</b>

By Joe Wessels

Post contributor

 

Two Cincinnati leaders will unveil an initiative Monday that they hope will get the city back into the mix for casino gambling in Ohio.  A majority of Cincinnati City Council - led by Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell and member Leslie Ghiz - plan to introduce a resolution Monday calling for the state to include the city in an upcoming ballot referendum on legalizing casino style gambling.

 

The measure, to be introduced at Monday's finance committee meeting, demands that ballot language be amended to include Cincinnati for consideration for a casino.  The resolution proposes a parking lot at Broadway Commons, which Tarbell unsuccessfully pushed in the late 1990s as the site for the Reds new ballpark, as the locale for a Cincinnati casino.

 

An organization called the Learn and Earn committee wants to put slot machines at Ohio's seven horse racetracks and allow up to two freestanding casinos in Cleveland.  Penn National Gaming, Inc. - owner of Toledo's Raceway Park and Lawrenceburg, Ind.'s Argosy riverboat casino - has gotten behind that proposal.  The referendum specifically would exclude Cincinnati, and city leaders want to change that.

 

Full article at http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060506/NEWS01/605060368

I'm getting ready to send out emails to each council member. Here's the link if anyone wants to do the same.

 

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/council/pages/-4126-/

<i>Here's the email I sent out to city counsel. Monday should be interesting. I also sent out emails to our commissioners, but I'm not too optimistic with them. Feel free to send your own email.</i>

 

Hello,

 

I'm writing to encouraged the approval of a resolution to allow a gambling casino in the City of Cincinnati which I read about it in the local paper.

 

We all know that a good many citizens spend their entertainment dollar at riverboat casinos. This upcoming November ballot offers a great opportunity to have those dollars spent in the City of Cincinnati. I think it is worth being very vocal about the benefits of not only entertainment dollars being spend downtown, but also new jobs created, development of a large section of downtown and a substantial increase of tax dollars. It also would be worth indicating to the voting public how the nearly $20 million a year in tax dollars would be utilized. Investment in the Banks project, funds for the new Riverfront park, additional investment in residential development downtown & Over The Rhine and dollars for a new jail are all great possibilities. I understand a large amount of land has been cleared in the Queensgate area which seems suitable for a new jail. If gambling is allowed in the state of Ohio, I see good things happening in Cincinnati's future. Thank you for your time.

 

Most Sincerely,

XXX

^Hopefully your/my thoughts and hopes for downtown, and the city of Cincinnati dont fall on deaf ears.  I would love to see council succeed with this effort....and would especially love to see something productive done with Broadway Commons.  I just dont see how the city, county, or state could refuse this notion.  Lord knows all three need increased tax revenue, and progressive motions taking place to catch Ohio up with the rest of the country.

From the 5/1/06 Massillon Independent:

 

Co-owner of ex-Republic site not invested in casino

Monday, May 1, 2006

By MATTHEW RINK

[email protected]

 

Despite being a co-owner of the Republic Steel site, Pete Bitzel has no ties to or financial interest in casino gambling or the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, he says.

 

“No one has ever talked to me about a casino going into this property and I’m a half-partner,” Bitzel said. “I’m dumbfounded by the whole thing. There’s been all this talk about a casino and I do own part of this property. We’ve just got to see what happens.

 

“I’m just a property owner in Massillon,” he added. “I’ll look at every option that comes this way. I’m not involved in a casino anywhere in Ohio. I have nothing to do with the tribe. I have no money invested in this. I’m not involved in their lawsuit. If it goes in Canal Fulton, or if it goes here or if it goes in Toledo, I have no say in it.

 

Full article at http://www.indeonline.com/archive/left_archive.php?ID=6776&r=2

 

City leaders have announced that they plan to make a public address about this issue today.  Once again it is Ghiz and Tarbel who are leading this charge, but they said they have the support of Mayor Mallory and the rest of city council.

 

On another note....if this doesnt work out and the state manages to screw up another issue in Ohio, then I hope that Cincinnati leaders ARE successful at defeating this issue out of principle.  Finally Cincy is taking a stand and saying NO to the stupidity in Columbus!!!

I'm impress that Ghiz(what a babe) is out in front on this being a Republican and all. This still has a long way to go, but I wonder what the Action Groups are thinking. And the Jesus freaks are rather quite about this, but I'm sure they'll rise up soon enough. ;-)

WKRC has two online video stories. One mentions the current owners of the surface lot would be more than happy to develop a casino. If this gets approved, developers will be coming out of the woodwork. They would get moving so quickly on this it would make most people's head spin. If they do what the Indians do in the Southwest, they'll put up an industrial size tent to get the money flowing then come up with a design to be built.

 

http://www.wkrc.com/mediacenter/?videoId=9854

Cincinnati.com has an online poll, and over 75% are in favor of a DT casino.

http://www.shopatcincinnati.com/polls/xlaapmview.asp?p=721&msg=voted&z=

 

Maybe Hamilton Country will join in since they may have to return millions to the Federal Government.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060508/NEWS01/605080345

 

What could fill the gap, I wonder . . .

 

I don't know how I feel about a casino in downtown? I have mixed emotions and you guys know I am a pretty liberal guy that cares about downtown just as much as anyone ... hell, downtown is my 'hood.

<i>A bit more info. I like the scary slant the folks in Indiana are putting on this. A one cop/one stop-light kind of town.</i>

 

<b>City Council Wants Casino Downtown </b>

 

Reported by: Deb Haas, Tom McKee

Web produced by: Mark Sickmiller

Photographed by: 9News

First posted: 5/8/2006 9:21:16 AM

Last updated: 5/8/2006 6:10:10 PM

 

When it comes to casinos, don't count us out. That's the message of some Cincinnati leaders.  Most council members want Cincinnati to be put back on a state initiative that would allow voter-approved casinos.  If a casino opened here, council members say it would likely go in the Broadway Commons area downtown.  That area is now a parking lot at Broadway and Reading.

 

Full article at

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/05/08/casino.html

 

<i>Do you want another 20 years of this?</i>

<i>I see all this news has generated a lot of excitement on the forum. :-P</i>

 

<b>City Leaders Push For Casino At Broadway Commons</b>

 

POSTED: 4:08 pm EDT May 8, 2006

UPDATED: 6:17 pm EDT May 8, 2006

 

CINCINNATI -- With millions of casino dollars going to local governments in Indiana, city officials are trying to get a piece of the game for downtown.  It's a roll of the dice because Cincinnati would need valid signatures in every one of Ohio's 88 counties just to get the issue put on the November ballot.  A majority of council members stood at Broadway Commons Monday morning in a push to get a casino for an area that now serves primarily as a parking zone.  "Oh, it's an unbelievable opportunity. Are you kidding me? I have been crazy all weekend long, just so excited about this," Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz said.

 

A casino could mean $22 million annually for Cincinnati and $18 million for the county.  But city leaders need a successful petition campaign as a starting point, because Cincinnati was left out of the mix for a statewide gambling initiative in the fall.  Experts said that voters could end up with dueling ballot issues.  "We think our issue has a much better chance of winning because we include Cincinnati. The other one basically says to the people of Southwest Ohio, 'We don't want you," casino consultant Jerry Austin said.

 

Full article at http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/9178478/detail.html

Tax money gained from gambling will decrease tax money that the city/county gets from other local entertainment options. People will not come from very far just to go to a casino in Cincinnati, it will drain its own people and that's about it.

Tax money gained from gambling will decrease tax money that the city/county gets from other local entertainment options. People will not come from very far just to go to a casino in Cincinnati, it will drain its own people and that's about it.

 

Those people, for the most part, are already 'draining' their money away at casinos....in INDIANA!  You really dont believe those casino's main customers are from Indiana, or Kentucky do you?  They are all located as close to their clientel (Cincinnati) as possible.  Why not implement some damage control and see some of the returns first hand?

Get one thing straight.  This proposal is not for a casino.  It is for a slot parlor (enquirer.com).  Just a big room full of slot machines.  No table games, no excitement.  The energy level in this joint would be about as high as the "joint" across the street from it.  You will not see one serious gambler here, especially not the type that would drop $100 on dinner before or after the casino.  This place will be full of retirees and other folks who can't afford to piss their money away. 

 

If you're going to make a deal with the devil, don't do it half-assed. 

Slots are where the is money. That is where most casinos make their money. It may only be slots, but that doesn't prevent other entertainment possibilities from happening. There's also talk of hotel. It sounds like their interested in creating a wide-ranging venue. It's called free-will, if people can drink their weight in booze on a Saturday night, a fews slots aren't nearly as evil.