Post by trackrat on Jun 28, 2010 14:00:20 GMT -5
Group seeking to block slot machines at Ohio horse racing tracks gives up fight
Published: Monday, June 28, 2010, 12:39 PM Reginald Fields, The Plain Dealer
A referendum on slot machines at horse racing tracks will not be on the November ballot after all.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A conservative group backing a referendum on slot machine gambling at Ohio horse racing tracks is pulling the measure off the November ballot, clearing the way for Gov. Ted Strickland to add 17,500 slots at the tracks.
The decision by LetOhioVote is a major victory for Strickland, who can now push forward with his plan to add the slot machines to the seven tracks and create an entirely new source of revenue for the cash-strapped state. It is also a huge win for the track owners, who have been clamoring for years for slot machines to help revive the horse racing industry in Ohio.
The principals behind LetOhioVote cited the passage of Issue 3 last fall, a constitutional amendment that allows four full-service casinos to be built in Ohio -- in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo.
Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert controls the Cleveland and Cincinnati casinos, and Penn National Gaming -- a Pennsylvania-based gaming company -- has the Columbus and Toledo sites.
"Gaming has been legalized in the state by the voters' recent passage of Issue 3, and it is now being overseen by the Casino Control Commission, which the legislature was constitutionally required to create for that purpose," committee member Tom Brinkman said in a letter to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, asking her to pull the issue off November's ballot.
Last July, the state legislature approved a plan from Strickland to add 17,500 slot machines to Ohio's racetracks. The slots were to be plugged in this May and generate up to $933 million in revenue.
But LetOhioVote sued, arguing that such a move required a vote of the people. And its position was supported by the Ohio Supreme Court, putting the slot machine plan on hold until today. Brinkman said the legislature alone should not be approving an expansion of gambling.
"We successfully defended Ohioans' referendum rights with our victory in the Ohio Supreme Court last year, and then the voters approved a casino gambling amendment," Brinkman wrote. "With our primary goals accomplished, it seems imprudent to proceed with a campaign that can be easily rendered moot by a court decision or new legislation authorizing" video lottery terminals.
The decision comes just five days after the Ohio State Racing Commission approved the sale of Thistledown in North Randall to Harrah's Entertainment, the largest gaming company in the world. Harrah's had previously indicated it would not purchase the track if Ohio permanently barred slots from ever being legalized at the tracks.
But last Wednesday, not only did Harrah's get approval from the commission for the $43 million deal, but a Harrah's executive told the commission that Gilbert and his company, Rock Ventures, has a contingency agreement to buy a piece of Thistledown.
The commission also approved a $37 million sale of Beulah Park race track near Columbus to Penn. Penn already owns Raceway Park in Toledo. The deals mean that the two entities who will control Ohio's four casinos could also control three of the state's seven horse racing tracks, which soon could all contain slot machine gambling.
Meanwhile, the funding behind LetOhioVote remains a secret. The group has listed all $1.55 million of its cash as coming from a Virginia-based group that was formed to engage in political activities and that is required only to file reports with the Internal Revenue Service.
Despite speculation that casino interests were behind the anti-slots campaign, Penn has repeatedly denied involvement. Gilbert, when asked in February if he is funding LetOhioVote, said: "We do not comment publicly one way or the other on any political support we do or do not engage in."
Published: Monday, June 28, 2010, 12:39 PM Reginald Fields, The Plain Dealer
A referendum on slot machines at horse racing tracks will not be on the November ballot after all.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A conservative group backing a referendum on slot machine gambling at Ohio horse racing tracks is pulling the measure off the November ballot, clearing the way for Gov. Ted Strickland to add 17,500 slots at the tracks.
The decision by LetOhioVote is a major victory for Strickland, who can now push forward with his plan to add the slot machines to the seven tracks and create an entirely new source of revenue for the cash-strapped state. It is also a huge win for the track owners, who have been clamoring for years for slot machines to help revive the horse racing industry in Ohio.
The principals behind LetOhioVote cited the passage of Issue 3 last fall, a constitutional amendment that allows four full-service casinos to be built in Ohio -- in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo.
Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert controls the Cleveland and Cincinnati casinos, and Penn National Gaming -- a Pennsylvania-based gaming company -- has the Columbus and Toledo sites.
"Gaming has been legalized in the state by the voters' recent passage of Issue 3, and it is now being overseen by the Casino Control Commission, which the legislature was constitutionally required to create for that purpose," committee member Tom Brinkman said in a letter to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, asking her to pull the issue off November's ballot.
Last July, the state legislature approved a plan from Strickland to add 17,500 slot machines to Ohio's racetracks. The slots were to be plugged in this May and generate up to $933 million in revenue.
But LetOhioVote sued, arguing that such a move required a vote of the people. And its position was supported by the Ohio Supreme Court, putting the slot machine plan on hold until today. Brinkman said the legislature alone should not be approving an expansion of gambling.
"We successfully defended Ohioans' referendum rights with our victory in the Ohio Supreme Court last year, and then the voters approved a casino gambling amendment," Brinkman wrote. "With our primary goals accomplished, it seems imprudent to proceed with a campaign that can be easily rendered moot by a court decision or new legislation authorizing" video lottery terminals.
The decision comes just five days after the Ohio State Racing Commission approved the sale of Thistledown in North Randall to Harrah's Entertainment, the largest gaming company in the world. Harrah's had previously indicated it would not purchase the track if Ohio permanently barred slots from ever being legalized at the tracks.
But last Wednesday, not only did Harrah's get approval from the commission for the $43 million deal, but a Harrah's executive told the commission that Gilbert and his company, Rock Ventures, has a contingency agreement to buy a piece of Thistledown.
The commission also approved a $37 million sale of Beulah Park race track near Columbus to Penn. Penn already owns Raceway Park in Toledo. The deals mean that the two entities who will control Ohio's four casinos could also control three of the state's seven horse racing tracks, which soon could all contain slot machine gambling.
Meanwhile, the funding behind LetOhioVote remains a secret. The group has listed all $1.55 million of its cash as coming from a Virginia-based group that was formed to engage in political activities and that is required only to file reports with the Internal Revenue Service.
Despite speculation that casino interests were behind the anti-slots campaign, Penn has repeatedly denied involvement. Gilbert, when asked in February if he is funding LetOhioVote, said: "We do not comment publicly one way or the other on any political support we do or do not engage in."