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Originally Posted by Derwood
Who should have written it is a neutral 3rd party. You don't think the casino owners wrote themselves an amendment that would greatly favor themselves over the state? This is the equivalent of Exxon writing oil legislation or Chase writing bank regulations
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What exactly do you oppose IN the amendment? Or are you just opposed to it because of who wrote it?
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This proposed amendment would:
* Authorize only one casino facility at a specifically designated location within each of the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo.
* Levy a fixed tax of 33% of gross casino revenue received by each casino operator of the four casino facilities.
* Distribute the casino tax as follows:
o 51% among all 88 counties in proportion to such counties’ respective populations. Half of each county’s distribution will go to its largest city if that city’s population is above 80,000.
o 34% among all public school districts
o 5% among all host cities
o 3% to the Ohio casino control commission
o 3% to the Ohio state racing commission fund
o 2% to a state law enforcement training fund
o 2% to a state problem gambling and addictions fund
* Require each initial licensed casino operator to pay a single $50,000,000 fee to be used for state job training purposes and make a minimum initial investment of $250,000,000 in its facility.
* Permit approved types of casino gaming authorized by Michigan, West Virginia, Indiana, and Pennsylvania as of January 1, 2009 or games subsequently authorized by those states.
* Authorize the casinos to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at the discretion of the casino operator and require that the casino facilities shall be subject to all state and local laws and provisions related to health and building codes, but that no local zoning, land use laws, subdivision regulations or similar provisions shall prohibit the development or operation of the casinos at the designated sites.
* Create the Ohio casino control commission which will license and regulate casino operators, management companies retained by such casino operators, key employees, gaming-related vendors, and all gaming authorized by this constitutional provision.
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Ohio Casino Initiative, Issue 3 (2009) - Ballotpedia
Where does it say ONLY Harrah's can own and operate Ohio casino's? Nowhere.
In fact knowing that there can be only 4 casinos, there actually maybe a bidding war for the rights and that would only benefit the state.
I really do not see anything in that amendment that hurts the state in any way, unless you are just opposed to gambling period.
Let's look at some of the people opposed, shall we:
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Youngstown city leaders, "Mahoning County Domcratic Party Chairman David Betras stated “The issue isn’t whether you support or oppose gambling. The issue is they passed us up.”
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Yeah they just wanted a bigger piece of the pie. If the casino were in Youngstown they'd be 100% for it.
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Cleveland developer Jeff Jacobs, who is also chairman of MTR Gaming Group, owns casinos in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and has a horse-racing track near Columbus, Ohio (Scioto Downs). Plus, he has donated 95% of the funding to Truthpac to push the opposition.
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This would hurt his income in his W. Va and Pa casinos. Plus, he's also a big backer for Gov. Strickland's proposal of putting slots in the racetracks... which would be more of a monopoly than the proposed amendment would be. Why would Jacobs want this? because then HE would make money at his racetrack with the slots there.
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As stated in an analysis by Ohio’s Office of Budget and Management and Department of Taxation, the amendment would generate about $643 million a year off of the 33 percent tax revenues. However, Batchelder and Blessing countered that analysis saying that a “loophole” in the amendment would not generate as much revenue as supporters are saying.
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What "loophole"? The posting above is the amendment show me where there is a "loophole".
Wait you mean this?
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That would be exempt from taxation, say leaders of TruthPAC, which is leading the campaign to defeat the casino proposal, Issue 3 on the November statewide ballot.
At a news conference yesterday, TruthPAC spokeswoman Sandy Theis called the cash exemption a "gaping loophole in the proposal."
Backers of Issue 3 say counties and other units of government would receive $651 million a year in casino taxes. The issue has the support of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, the state's largest police union.
Issue 3 spokesman Bob Tenenbaum insisted that the proposed casinos would not use cash except to exchange for vouchers, which would mean they'd pay taxes.
"Cash wagering is an anachronism," Tenenbaum said. "Nobody uses it."
State Rep. Louis W. Blessing Jr., R-Cincinnati, said the wording of the constitutional amendment does envision cash wagering.
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Cash wagers wouldn't be taxed, casino foes say | Columbus Dispatch Politics
I'm sorry, every casino I have EVER been to pays it's slots off in tokens, you need chips to play at the table, and so on.
And let us look at who "pointed out" this loophole....
Truthpac.... and who has donated 95% of Truthpac's money? Jeff Jacobs... and who is Jeff Jacobs???? Why the man whose W. Va and Pa casinos would be hurt and possible slot revenue at Scioto Downs by the passing of this amendment.
So, to me it looks like those opposed are planning to make more on this amendment's failure than those who wrote the amendment hoping it will pass.