Ohio voters approve casinos
Pledging tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of tax dollars for recession-ravaged Ohio, backers of a $1 billion casino proposal secured a victory Tuesday that has evaded four other plans in the past two decades.
Voters approved Issue 3 with 1.66 million votes in favor of the constitutional amendment, or 53 percent of all cast, and 1.48 million, or 47 percent, against, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office. The plan, backed by casino operator Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN) and businessman and Cleveland sports team owner Dan Gilbert, calls for building full-service casinos in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo.
Voter turnout on Tuesday stood at 40 percent with about 3.2 million of the state’s 8 million registered voters hitting the polls, according to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office.
Other proposals for legalized gambling in Ohio have been soundly defeated at the hands of voters four times since 1990, the latest coming last year when 63 percent of voters rejected plans for a $600 million casino resort in Clinton County. Since the last casino proposal went down, Ohio’s jobless rate peaked at its highest point in more than a quarter-century and Gov. Ted Strickland reversed his long-standing stance against expanded gambling when he proposed a now-idled plan to install video slot machines at racetracks to plug a budget hole.
Proponents of the four-casino plan pledged to create 34,000 jobs in the state and distribute $651 million a year in tax revenue to Ohio’s counties based on a 33 percent tax rate. Opponents, notably TruthPac, a group financially backed in large part by horse racing and rival casino interests, cried foul over what they called a monopoly in the works that would drain nearby businesses and spark a rise in social ills.
Pennsylvania's Legislature authorized the legalization of slot machines at 14 locations throughout the state in 2004.
Pittsburgh's casino went through some financing problems and ownership change before the Rivers Casino opened in August.The most recent figures show Pennsylvania's September casino revenue was up 30 percent year-over-year.
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Sources: WCPO, MSN Money Central, Biz Journals, Youtube, Google Maps
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