After becoming the 39th state in the US to legalize casinos in a statewide vote last week, the state of Ohio is now in the process of formulating a plan to bring new casinos and thousands of jobs to the Buckeye State.
State meets with casino officials
Earlier this week, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and state legislative leaders began initial discussions with some Ohio casino developers. The meetings involved Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and some officials from Penn National Gaming. Gilbert is set to construct casinos in Cincinnati and Cleveland while the Penn National group is set to produce casinos in Toledo and Columbus as part of a plan to feature the four biggest cities in the state.
“We told the governor, ‘Look, we have gaming now in Ohio. What we have to do is do it the right way, where it positively affects the communities and creates the most jobs,’ ” said Gilbert. Penn National President Tim Wilmott stated that there were conversations pursuant to  the licensing and regulatory process. According to Wilmott, lawmakers should create the regulations before Penn and Gilbert will be comfortable paying the $200 million dollars outlined in licensing fees for the four casinos.
Issue swirling in controversy
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While the vote did pass, there are still plenty of forces that are not in favor of the new legislation. Governor Strickland was not in favor of the Issue 3 measure that passed in his state. There are many in central Ohio that do not want a casino in their area. While Wilmott is hoping to have a casino opened in Columbus by the end of 2012, there is some strong opposition that could disrupt the plan. State Senate President Bill M. Harris, an Ashland Republican who opposed Issue 3, is looking into some proposals amending the constitution, which would give Columbus the right to reject the casino deal. The voters of Franklin County have already rejected the casino proposal. Strickland has also indicated his desire to give Columbus the option of being removed from the plan. The governor has vowed not to take any contributions from casino operators for his re-election bid in 2010.
Wilmott isn’t fazed by the opposition forces. “I know there’s been a lot of things said by the opposition, a lot of mistruths, a lot of blatant lies about what the casino will bring to the city of Columbus, to the state of Ohio,” he said. “I can assure you that we’re going to develop here, we’re going to create these jobs, and we’re going to get people back to work.”
After an aggressive campaign led by Penn National and Gilbert that topped 2008′s $40 million in presidential campaign spending, the pro-casino Ohio Jobs & Growth Committee reversed the historically anti-gambling stance in Ohio. The state had rejected expanded gambling four times over the past two decades. With an enticement of over 30,000 new jobs, the measure was able to strike a nerve for a state that has battled an unemployment rate of over 10 percent.
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