No On Issue 6.... Stop the Deception

Ohio shouldn't gamble on casino plan

Some betting people are putting money down that Ohioans will come out yet again against casino gambling.

Issue 6 on the Nov. 4 ballot would give one specific developer the right to open one casino in Clinton County near Wilmington at I-71 and State Route 73. Though that developer is dropping $14 million to sell the idea, the company that owns the Argosy casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind., is prepared to spend three times that obscene amount to get Ohioans to bury any competition for it.

At least that's what proponents say.

Let's just agree that millions are going into the fight.

Ask yourself this question: If you were inclined to have a casino in Ohio, would you want the developer to write the rules about what taxes that business has to pay and what rules it will abide by?

That's what happened here. Two Cleveland-area entrepreneurs (Rick Lertzman and Dr. Bradford Pressman) have been angling for a decade for a casino in Ohio. They've paired with Lakes Entertainment, which has helped Indian tribes with their casinos in other states, and together they've written a little contract for themselves about how they'd operate in Ohio.

Even if you don't buy all the criticisms of their project, the arrangement feels too cozy.

The precise plan is for a 94-acre $600 million resort with theaters, restaurants, a hotel, a spa and, of course, all the slots and blackjack you could want. These specs would make it the third-largest casino in the country.

There will be no $4.95 buffets, Messrs. Pressman and Lertzman say, just upscale restaurants that will be classy. No neon signs either, or dancing girls with feathers. But plenty of shopping.

The men argue that they have no choice but to take their appeal directly to the people. They insist that the Legislature in Ohio is never going to approve a casino, given Ohioans' historical objections. They also complain that they can't get a fair shake because Ohio is "corrupt," that the politicians will only agree to a casino if they're given campaign contributions, which they say they'll never stoop to.

It's true that any gambling enterprise would have an uphill battle in Columbus; the anti-gambling crowd in Ohio is fierce. But that doesn't explain all the proponents' problems.

The gaming business is lucrative enough and potentially corrupt enough that no one in their right mind would let a business that projects it can bring in $800 million a year write protections and rules for itself. And in Ohio's case at hand, some of those terms would be in the Constitution, making it particularly difficult to undo any loopholes.

The My Ohio Now Committee — the pro people — are hyping the special taxes they would pay, and the jobs they would create in and around Wilmington and for some Dayton-area people.

There is no doubt new tax dollars would be generated, and most would go to county governments, divvied up on a per-capita basis (after Clinton County got a 10 percent share for being the host community).

That's all well and good — if the company is really paying its fair share, being adequately regulated and if you're supportive of casinos in the first place.

There are respectable arguments that Ohio shouldn't forever keep out gambling, what with so many regional casinos popping up and so many states beckoning Ohioans to come there to gamble.

But Issue 6 is too big a risk, requiring Ohioans to put too much faith in people who would make out like bandits.