Issue 6 Opponents Switch Directions Once Again In Ohio

Opposition groups to Issue 6 in Ohio are getting desperate. They fear that they are losing their battle against bringing a casino to Clinton County, so they have changed the direction of their opposition.

The old argument they posed was that the state could end up with no money from the proposed casino under the wording of Issue 6. They claimed that if a tribal casino was opened in the state, then the owners of the Clinton casino would not have to pay the state.

The only thing that they left out of that argument was that there are currently no tribes in Ohio that have the sovereign land to build that fictitious casino. Now that they are on the verge of defeat, those opposing the new casino have changed direction.

"We think if the state wants to legalize gambling, the state should auction off this kind of casino license to the highest bidder,' said Jeff Hooke, of the Buckeye Institute. The Institute has recently concluded a study on the effects the new casino would have.

Once again, the arguments are turning political. When the opposition to Issue 6 realized they were losing the battle, they turned to fear to sway the voters of Ohio. They are placing the fear in voters that the state is not receiving their share for the new casino.

Reports have been done that show the new casino would create 5,000 jobs, and put $200 million into the economy in Ohio. That sounds like a strong solution to the current economic crisis, but opponents are not sure.

"There's going to be less money for restaurants, less money for bowling alleys, and less money for movie theatres,' said Hooke. This point could be true, but to be correct, one would have to assume that all 2,000 people that get the new jobs were pumping their money into slot machines.

The money that workers will receive will allow them to take their families to the movies, or bowling, or out to dinner. That is luxury those 2,000 people do not currently enjoy.

The election is drawing near, and the chances are strong that there are a few more of these studies that will come out from opposition groups in the coming weeks, studies that will most certainly chance the opposition's stances once again.

October 14, 2008
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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