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nbc4i.com wrote
Casino As Possible Solution For Ohio’s Economy?
Monday, Jun 09, 2008 – 05:18 PM
By Denise Yost
As the Ohio economy struggles, will more Ohio voters be willing to place their bets on an Ohio casino? The proposed casino would cost $600 million and would bring 5,000 new jobs to Central Ohio.
Those who are behind the casino development said a new casino could generate more than $200 million in tax revenues for Ohio’s 88 counties.
But Gov. Ted Strickland said he still believes the majority of Ohioans are against gambling in Ohio and is not supporting the proposed casino in Clinton County.
Comments
- itinerantfoodie: Not one mention of Huntington Park or their sparse advertising. (Seriously
- Liz Samuelson: Why can't they just pay someone to do it versus a contest? I really like t
- RichLauro: Awesome! Good for Justin and best wishes!!
- Liz Samuelson: @jpizzow – Thank you for the compliment, yes lots of potential and lots o
- Taz Devil: Oh, and it should be finished soon considering that they work late into the
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Casino As Possible Solution For Ohio’s Economy?
By: Walker
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Meanwhile our tourism dollars and jobs are heading to the border states that do allow it.
It would be a great idea and could potentially help diversify some of the cities in Ohio that have been hit hard as one industry towns. I had a chance to go to Greektown in Detroit a year or so ago. It was very well done in blending casino gambling into this district. With the current makeup of the OGA wanting to protect their constituents from every possible evil, it won’t happen anytime soon.
A casino in a state who’s citizens cannot handle payday loans?
Personal responsibility is a wonderful part of being considered an adult. Too bad the concept of this is lost on most people.
Personal responsibility is one way of thinking about the issue, definitely. A friend once suggested another. He referred to state-owned casinos as a “stupidity tax.” I don’t think he’s quite right — addiction plays a role too, in quite a few cases. But even with that modification to his formulation, I’m left looking at stories like this and asking myself if we should be taking advantage of addicts and the mathematically challenged (who, I fear, are already disproportionately poor) in order to spur economic growth in the state. I have to think there’s a better way….
I don’t speak with much authority on this board about most things. On this one I feel a little bit comfortable, I used to work for Caesars. If Ohio thinks payday lending is bad, casinos won’t work. When a person runs out of money on their debit and credit cards, the casino happily extends new lines of credit. People lose their homes, cars, asses- daily. Then when it can get no worse they send bubba to your door looking for their money. Generally bubba is some high powered law firm, either way though the hole just gets deeper and deeper. Many turn back to gambling to regain money lost, and the casino will never stop opening new lines of credit. We used to keep them there as long as possible by throwing free food and alcohol at them, hotel rooms, car rentals, prostitutes, name it- the casino offers it. People would sit in those slot chairs for so long that they’d urinate and defecate in their pants before they’d lose their seats. Creative ones would use beer bottles, or coin cups -which are now extinct for paper vouchers. Others would pass out and fall over in the floor, we would put those up in a hotel room too. Hell, occasionally people had heart attacks and died right there at the table or machine.
I’m not an advocate for casinos, I don’t think they are bad, I know they are.
Yes, you are taking advantage of some people within the society on an issue like this. On the flip side, a lot will benefit from an initiative like casinos. First and foremost, you create jobs within the casino itself. Hotels and Restaurants in the immediate area pick up with an increase in demand for their services. You may see new hotels built or old ones expanded, more dining establishments and bars and a rise in employment for these industries. Throw in retail and, if talking downtown Columbus, museums and you have even more benefit.
What is the greater good here? Protecting a handful of individuals, based on income or addiction from themselves? Or providing a way to stimulate our community by creating jobs and a bigger draw for tourism dollars? Go back to a discussion here earlier on school funding issues. Tie casinos into school funding and you might have the beginnings of a solution or at least an availability of greater funding.
It would be great if a casino company would come in and develop a site (hmm…I wonder where a big tract of land in the downtown area is that is convenient to parking, lodging and food?) and build the d**n streetcars right into their property while they were at it.
Las Vegas is trashy. We have plenty of tourism activities without gambling, and if Ohio enters the casino party and we’re the last to arrive, we’ll see few benefits. If people are spending money at casinos, do you think they’ll buy art in the Short North?
I agree with Bear. Casinos are a “stupidity tax”. We need to focus on innovations that build and create new sustainable industries here.
Our universities research sits in a lock box for the most part. There is no commercialization, no access to capital and thus no new industries created. Maybe instead of a casino we start to think of more strategically aligning the assets we have here to get the job of economic development started.
Ohio lawmakers need to get over themselves. Gambling used to be taboo, but obviously it’s become mainstream. Hell, it’s even glamorized on ESPN and 10 other networks now. If Ohio is content to see all those gambling dollars leave the state that is their choice. Personally I think a casino along the lines of Foxwoods would be great. Put a Cameron Mitchell restaurant in there, a nice spa and a big poker room and it would be a hit. They can go after clientele from Indy and Chicago, Cleveland, etc.
With airline prices skyrocketing, you now have a chance to get those Vegas dollars
With airline prices skyrocketing, you now have a chance to get those Vegas dollars It isn’t the legislature, it is the citizens.
http://www.smartvoter.org/2006/11/07/oh/state/issue/3/
who overwhelmingly have said they don’t want it
Visitation to Las Vegas is down 9% this year. Does that tell you anything about gambling during economic slowdowns? If people are looking for a casino to bring back prosperity, it just won’t. It would be just another service industry sector that sheds jobs when times are tough.
If we want to be serious about building something that’s a recession proof, positive addition to the Columbus, why not turn City Center into a world class medical facility, along the lines of Johns Hopkins or the Cleveland Clinic. Something like this would truly anchor downtown with high paying jobs and give the city some international recognition.
I’m not crazy about the idea of a casino, and wouldn’t go there myself, but I have a problem w/the government trying to protect people from themselves. Didn’t work with prohibition. People like to gamble, drink, do drugs, etc…I’d prefer that it get taxed & money be made off of it. Call it a “sin tax” or “stupidity tax” or whatever.
If we want to be serious about building something that’s a recession proof, positive addition to the Columbus, why not turn City Center into a world class medical facility, along the lines of Johns Hopkins or the Cleveland Clinic. Something like this would truly anchor downtown with high paying jobs and give the city some international recognition.
Isn’t Columbus already (over)saturated with healthcare jobs (OSU, McConnell, etc…)?
[quote="Wallis"
Isn’t Columbus already (over)saturated with healthcare jobs (OSU, McConnell, etc…)?
I don’t think so. Look at Cleveland. The Cleveland Clinic draws patients from around the nation and world, including the Saudi royal family, who drop millions per visit. But maybe some of these facilities could be combined into a downtown HQ.
I love the idea of a world-class medical center here. I’m surprised we haven’t heard more about Green Jobs here in Ohio. I think going green is generally viewed as a bourgeoisie concept or luxury. Maybe green jobs could help democratize the economics of going green? We have a workforce that could potentially adapt to clean-tech manufacturing.
When I think gambling I think of overweight chainsmoking mumu wearing women on oxygen pumping tokens into slots by the handfull.
Glamorous.
Glamorous.
The saddest thing I saw in Vegas last week was a pregnant cigarette girl.
I don’t think so. Look at Cleveland. The Cleveland Clinic draws patients from around the nation and world, including the Saudi royal family, who drop millions per visit. But maybe some of these facilities could be combined into a downtown HQ.
It is. The OSU medical center is top notch; one of the few really bright spots in an otherwise mediocre research institution. Plus there’s the OhioHealth facilities (Riverside, et al), Grant, Doctors, and Children’s which is a pretty solid children’s medical center/research facility in and of itself.
There may be a use for some of the space at City Center related to health care but not all of it. There’s a reason the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Sloan-Kettering, MD Anderson, etc are what the are. It takes a tremendous amount of vision, leadership, money, and time to become those types of institutions. It’s not something you can do by waving a magic wand at an abandoned mall.
Don’t forget we already have forms of gambling here in Columbus and the state: Scioto Downs and our lottery.
Spot on.