Poll Shows Ohio Casinos May Happen, Fight Still On

In November, Ohio voters will decide whether or not they will approve the construction of casinos in 4 of their cities. Plans have been drawn for casinos in Columbus, Toledo, and two other areas. However, last year's proposal for a single casino also led in the polls and was defeated on election day.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Seven weeks before election day, Ohioans by a wide margin say they favor a plan to put casinos in Columbus and three other Ohio cities, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

"Gambling opponents, who have beat back previous efforts to bring casinos to Ohio four times, have their work cut out for them if they are to prevail this time," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Connecticut university's polling institute, in a release.

The issue was passing by a 21-point margin in the survey released today, down a bit from a 26-point lead in July but still a large hurdle for gambling opponents to overcome less than two months before Ohioans vote on state Issue 3.

Even with passage, it will likely take some time for these casinos to open, and no word on whether or not they would have bingo. Of course, any casino will certainly have an impact on nearby charity bingos.

For more information, please see Darrel Rowland, Casinos a winner, poll shows, The Columbus Dispatch, September 15, 2009.

Ohio Lottery Director Resigns

Ohio's lottery director resigned Tuesday from a rocky tenure serving in Gov. Ted Strickland's cabinet, as the state tries to expand the lottery to include video slot machines at horse racing tracks.

Dolan did not say why he's leaving in his resignation letter to Strickland, other than to say that he had thought about the direction of the lottery, including the new policy for slot machines.

"My reflection has led me to conclude that the best interests of the Lottery and the state, as well as my personal interests, would be best served by passing the Lottery 'baton' so that the next leg of the race can be completed freshly," Dolan said.

Dolan will continue to serve as lottery director until Strickland makes a new appointment.

Dolan's tenure included being cited in an Ohio Inspector general report for sending free lottery tickets to a state trooper who had pulled him over for driving without a front license plate and found that he wasn't wearing a seat belt. The trooper let him off with verbal warnings.

Dolan sent 100 instant tickets to the trooper. In response to the Inspector General report, Dolan said he regretted that his actions reflected poorly on the lottery but stopped short of saying he did anything wrong.

Dolan also appeared unprepared to answer questions during hearings held by Senate Republicans to evaluate Strickland's slots plan.

Additionally, there were questions about how Dolan dealt with state lawmakers who were evaluating lottery contracts.

For the complete story, please see Stephen Majors, State lotto chief says he's 'passing baton,' resigns, AP via FallsNewsPress.com, August 9, 2009.

Ohio VLT's (Slots) Challenged in Court

The question of whether Ohio Governor Ted Strickland’s executive order authorizing the Ohio Lottery to install video lottery terminals (VLTs) at the state’s racetracks has landed -- as expected -- in the Ohio Supreme Court. And another proposal to legalize full-service casinos, sponsored in part by Penn National Gaming, owner of Toledo Raceway Park, will be on this coming November’s Ohio ballot.

An organization calling itself letohiovote.org has filed papers in the state’s highest court, seeking a ruling that Strickland overstepped his legal bounds by authorizing VLTs at the tracks. The group has also said it will spend up to $2.5 million to gather signatures to put the issue on the November 2010 state ballot.

Another anti-gambling group, the Ohio Roundtable, a church-based group, has promised to file a lawsuit, but has not done so as of yet.

On another Buckeye gaming front, Ohio Attorney General Jennifer Brunner has ruled that more than the necessary 402,275 valid signatures have been submitted by Penn National and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who seek to build full-service casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo, and that the question will appear on the November ballot this year.

For the complete story, please see John Pawlak, Ohio VLTs challenged in court; casino vote to go forward, U.S. Trotting Association, July 22, 2009.

Compromise Could Bring Slots to Ohio Tracks

After a 13-day impasse, the Ohio legislature yesterday rocketed a new state budget to the governor that Democrats say makes the best of a bad economic hand dealt to the state but Republicans say is a gamble that won't pay off.

The bill allows Gov. Ted Strickland to add electronic video slot machines at Ohio's seven horse-racing tracks, proposed to be operational by May, to help balance the budget with $2.5 billion in spending cuts but without raising taxes.

Almost no one on either side of the partisan divide liked the finished product -- Republicans supplied just six votes, including five needed in the Senate for passage. But last night, Strickland hailed an end to the rancorous standoff.

"Our people and our businesses are struggling to stay afloat in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression," the governor said in a statement. "This budget protects them from tax increases they simply cannot afford."

For the complete story, please see Mark Niquette and Joe Hallett, Final bill passes with wealth of grumbling, The Columbus Dispatch, July 14, 2009.

Ohio Senate Rejects Casino Plan

Gov. Ted Strickland said Saturday the Republican-controlled Senate rejected his proposal to erase Ohio's $3.2 billion budget deficit, dealing a strong blow to the already diminishing chances the spending plan would be finished on time.

The most crucial component of the Democratic governor's plan would put slot machines at Ohio's seven horse racing tracks to raise an estimated $933 million over the next two years. Strickland said the onus was now on the Senate to suggest how to deal with the nearly $1 billion hole.

"I believe that he (Senate President Bill Harris) and the Senate majority have an obligation to say what taxes they would increase or what services they would further reduce in order to balance the budget," Strickland said in a statement.

A message seeking comment was left with Harris spokeswoman Maggie Ostrowski Saturday.

The impasse jeopardized a meeting of negotiators scheduled for Sunday, and further reduced the possibility that the state budget would be passed in time for the next fiscal year to begin July 1.

If lawmakers can't reach a deal, they will have to pass a temporary budget - likely at significantly reduced funding levels - to give themselves more time to negotiate the rest of the two-year plan.

For the complete story, please see Ohio Senate rejects Strickland gambling plan, The Associated Press via MansfieldNewsjournal.com, June 27, 2009.

Ohio Casino Opponents Voice Their Concern

A plan to put casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo is a losing bet, state Rep. Dennis E. Murray Jr. said.

However, an alternative proposal that would allow casinos in Lorain, Sandusky and elsewhere could be better for Ohio, he said.

This week, Murray blasted "The Ohio Jobs & Growth Plan" casino proposal and confirmed he has drafted an alternative that would allow casino gambling in any of Ohio's 88 counties. The Sandusky Democrat's district includes Erie County, and he discussed the issue Monday as part of a business and government summit hosted by Erie and Huron county chambers of commerce.

Time will tell whether Ohio legislators and voters see either issue on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Supporters of The Ohio Jobs & Growth Plan, which would put casinos in Ohio's four largest cities, must gather 400,000 signatures by next month to get the issue on the ballot. Backers include casino operator Penn National and Dan Gilbert, the founder of Quicken Loans.

Murray said he would wait to see if the issue makes the ballot before asking Ohio's lawmakers to put a second gambling issue up for a vote.

The Ohio Jobs & Growth Plan promotes $1 billion minimum in private investment, $200 million in licensing fees, $651 million a year for schools, counties, cities and Ohio, with 20,000 new jobs, according to its Web site, www.ohiojobsandgrowth.org.

Even so, it is not a winner, Murray said.

For the complete story, please see Richard Payerchin, State Rep. Murray says casino plan a losing bet, The Morning Journal, June 24, 2009.

Governor Pushes for Slots in Ohio

Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to balance the budget with gambling money includes legalizing up to 15,250 slot machines at Ohio's seven horse racetracks, with most of the games plugged in by next May.

The governor's office estimates the machines will rake in nearly $1 billion in 14 months -- from May 2010 to the end of the 2011 fiscal year.

The plan would allow the state to collect 48 percent of that revenue for education spending while the other 52 percent would be split among the seven track owners and pay administrative and operational expenses, including payouts to lucky winners.

The state would also collect a one-time licensing fee from each owner, somewhere in the neighborhood of $65 million for each location depending on how many machines are at each track.

All of these figures are moving targets, said Strickland's budget director Pari Sabety, in particular the licensing fee, which some track owners may balk at.

"We've looked at some states where they have pegged the licensing fee high and the revenue share low or visa versa," Sabety said. "So If you get a big licensing fee, do you give the track owners more on the backside? So that is a lot of the kind of stuff we're going to have to work through."

Strickland, a Democrat, announced Friday, June 19, that he was reversing his stance against gambling and introduced the slots plan that he believes could net the state $933 million in the next two years.

The gambling proceeds represent crucial new revenue for Ohio, which is struggling to balance its next biennium budget in the face of a $3.2 billion shortfall.

The governor also proposed $2.4 billion in cuts to state agencies and programs as Ohio's economy and job creation efforts continue to struggle.

But Strickland's turnaround on gambling has drawn the most attention. It has provided the conference committee, a bipartisan legislative panel working to present the governor a balanced budget by June 30, some needed direction.

None of the three prior budget proposals -- from the governor, House and Senate -- included expanding gambling.

But with budget negotiations at a stalemate and the unexpected size of the budget gap, the six-member committee is likely to work from the governor's latest plan and add its own twists to the slots proposal.

Senate President Bill Harris, an Ashland Republican, has long frowned on gambling as a budget solution. But Harris said he is willing to consider the governor's plan.

For the complete story, please see Reginald Fields, Ohio could see 15,250 slot machines under Gov. Ted Strickland's budget proposal, Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 22, 2009.

Slots Coming to Ohio Tracks?

State Rep. Louis Blessing said he'll introduce legislation this week to put 2,000 slot machines at each of Ohio's seven horse tracks, including River Downs in Anderson Township and Lebanon Raceway in Warren County.

Blessing, a Republican from Colerain Township, said it can be done without Ohio voter approval if the gambling is regulated by the Ohio Lottery Commission, which already oversees Keno.

Possible bankruptcy of Ohio horse tracks makes passing state legislation this year more urgent than ever, according to Blessing.

Jack Hanessian, general manager at River Downs, said he's already competing against two Indiana horse tracks that offer slot machines.

"We've had tremendous losing years, and these are actual cash losses ... and it's gotten more severe in the last three or four years."

Expanded gambling options generate more "purse money" for horse owners, and that attracts quality horses, Hanessian said. "If you don't have the purse money, they won't come."

Blessing said he thinks the proposal has enough votes to pass in the Ohio House, although Gov. Ted Strickland said he will likely veto any new gambling legislation that excludes a statewide vote of Ohioans.

For the complete story, please see Jon Craig and Allison D'Aurora, Bill would put slots at Ohio tracks, The Cincinnati Enquirer, April 12, 2009.