No On Issue 3 Ads.

[Tigertree]

I think the no on issue 3 ad’s need a new angle. I can’t think of ANY company that only hires Ohio residents, and whether they started out as residents or not, the people that started to work for the casino would then be living here. Can’t they do better? At this rate the proposal is going to pass and I won’t be able to start my casino train.

[lifeontwowheels]

I don’t know. If one of the arguments for casinos is the creation of Ohio jobs (and it seems to be from the ads I have seen in favor) I think it is a fair point to criticize. Your not really creating Ohio jobs if you are bussing in folks from other states. The gain in income taxes and other revenues is offset by the fact that “real” Ohioans who may be qualified for these jobs are still out of work. Probably an issue of semantics and how you define job creation and what you consider a win.

[Tigertree]

But either way you slice it there are now 34,000 jobs (if you take them at there word) that did not exist before. I just fail to see the negative, and it’s ridiculous to think that all of the jobs would be filled by “skilled, experienced, casino workers.” I am sure most of the management will be people with seniority within that particular gambling organization. I doubt much else though.

[misskitty]

TigerTree I saw that commercial and thought the same thing. I think they are pressed and think that the casino will pass after all this time around.
No one is going to drive into Ohio to work at a casino. They are not going to pay to bus in workers. If they relocate here then they will live in Ohio and pay taxes.
TBH the more I have thought about the idea of a “First Class” Vegas style casino the more I like it. That is if it’s going to be 100% all the way. The arena district is like our entertainment district after all. I would want to read more about it before I was dead set on voting yes though.

[lifeontwowheels]

Tigertree wrote >>
But either way you slice it there are now 34,000 jobs (if you take them at there word) that did not exist before. I just fail to see the negative, and it’s ridiculous to think that all of the jobs would be filled by “skilled, experienced, casino workers.” I am sure most of the management will be people with seniority within that particular gambling organization. I doubt much else though.

Like I said, it’s probably an issue of semantics and how you define Ohio jobs. I still think there are probably better ideas out there in terms of sustainable job creation and revenue generation. 4 casinos in Ohio to start with, the potential of race track slots (Grove City is looking at a casino of sorts at Beulah Park if the race track thing goes through) and the competition across state lines leaves a lot of questions as to how much draw these can have over the long term. Our casino in the AD probably has the best potential, depending on what happens with race track slots. If anything, I would hope the passage of this and potential success would finally start silencing the downtown critics (and 3C critics).

If done right, this could be great for us in particular. But that’s a very slippery slope and a very fine line to balance.

[Tigertree]

And like I said, most of the jobs are grunt work kind of jobs, which is a totally different argument so that’s not my point. They aren’t going to pay to relocate the hourlies from Louisiana, but the management stuff will be offered to those people first. The other people that start as hourlies will, most likely, have the opportunity to climb the ladder a bit. So lets be generous and say 10% of the jobs are being “bussed in” you’re still looking at 24,000 new jobs and 10,000 new Ohioans.

[Rockmastermike]

misskitty wrote >>
TBH the more I have thought about the idea of a “First Class” Vegas style casino the more I like it. That is if it’s going to be 100% all the way. The arena district is like our entertainment district after all. I would want to read more about it before I was dead set on voting yes though.

I would also encourage some research into the evolution of neighborhoods in wheeling and indiana after the casinos went in. What has the impact been after a few years? I for one would love to know.

Now, I enjoy some blackjack or poker as much as the next guy…I’ve enjoyed visiting casinos in vegas and other places…and I’m not saying we’re going to immediately end up with an influx of ‘slot jockies’ leaving piles of soiled Depends in the parking lots and a bunch of payday loan shops opening up in the arena district to feed on gambling addicts… But I do worry about the kind of desperation I’ve seen in some of these places.

Also given the ownership of the casinos is not local means a lot of money will be leaving the state regardless of how many service jobs are opened for locals. Is this really that much better than all that wealth going to “out of state casinos”? It seems like the money goes away regardless.

Constitutional amendments should be examined carefully and not done lightly. As far as I’m concerned there had better be a really damned good reason to do it, and I’m not entirely sold on this being a damned good reason.

also, can we get rid of the extra apostrophe in the topic? It’s distracting.

[catnfiddle]

Rockmastermike wrote >>
also, can we get rid of the extra apostrophe in the topic? It’s distracting.

+1 from the grammar geek. As for the ads, I’m doing my best to ignore them and do my own research on the issue.

[hugh59]

Has anyone been to the casinos in nearby states? I remember being in casinos in Puerto Rico and they were nothing like the image you see in movies and on TV. You may find, after seeing what these places are really like, that you don’t want them near you.

[Rockmastermike]

hugh59 wrote >>
Has anyone been to the casinos in nearby states? I remember being in casinos in Puerto Rico and they were nothing like the image you see in movies and on TV. You may find, after seeing what these places are really like, that you don’t want them near you.

hmm… I may just have to make a road trip in the name of research.

[lifeontwowheels]

Not in-too young at the time. In my mom’s home town there is one run by the Natives and I’ve been in Detroit’s Greek Town district. Both towns have the image-to me at least-of being largely one (dying) industry towns trying desperately to reinvent themselves.

[lifeontwowheels]

On the card games, would this allow an independent business to organize cash games for poker and the like? Might allow some local businesses to get a little creative with the occasional promo.

[Tigertree]

hugh59 wrote >>
Has anyone been to the casinos in nearby states? I remember being in casinos in Puerto Rico and they were nothing like the image you see in movies and on TV. You may find, after seeing what these places are really like, that you don’t want them near you.

Yeah, I have been to a couple in Indiana and we stopped in a couple in Detroit last time we were there. The Indiana ones were trashy and the Detroit ones were great. I think, basically, as long as they aren’t forced to be on a riverboat, nicer is the trend. That said, a casino in the arena district is, in my opinion, terrible for downtown, the arena district, and the short north for all of the available before and after evidence of other cities. Unfortunatly I don’t see anything other than pawn shops and strip clubs in the proximity of other casinos. So now that you know where I stand, back to the discussion I was trying to have.

[lifeontwowheels]

I wonder how much of the effect before and after has to do with largely outside interests developing these casino projects? Would the before and after be any different with a local developer who had some investment in the community?

I think with the right minds, we have enough creative and brilliant people in Columbus who could create an awesome regional gaming destination.

[David S Lewis]

I think it is a little unrealistic to think the casinos would be trashily built in the arena district, which is a central and well-maintained area of town. Our downtown hasn’t been “industrial” for quite some time. In Baton Rouge, the casino is second rate, trashy and terrible; in New Orleans, the Harrah’s is first class and has added a lot to the city and the area (and the tax base). A look at a crime map of the area definitely doesn’t indicate that more crime happens around the casino; in fact, it’s quite the opposite.

[Author]

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