Gambling news from http://toledoblade.com/
Backers of a constitutional amendment to bring slot machines to Ohio spent more than $1.7 million just to gather enough signatures to put the issue to voters on Nov. 7.
That breaks down to about $2.75 for each of 624,625 signatures submitted, according to a report filed this week with the secretary of state's office. Nearly half of those were rejected by county boards of elections as not being valid signatures of registered Ohio voters, prompting a new round of petition circulating to fill a shortfall of 8,716.
"They bought a lot of bad signatures," said Dave Zanotti, president of the Ohio Roundtable and co-chairman of the committee fighting the ballot issue. "There's no limit to what they're willing to spend."
The report notes that Ohio Learn and Earn, the committee behind the slots-for-scholarships proposal, received nearly $2.2 million from the Ohio Legacy Fund, which, as a nonprofit organization, is not required under law to disclose where it gets its money. Corporations are permitted to contribute to ballot issues.
The organization's initial articles of incorporation filed with the secretary of state's office in late 2005 listed as its purpose "to promote economic development and improve educational opportunity for residents of Ohio." In July, its papers were amended to change its purpose to "promote, foster, and advance the welfare and interests of all those engaged in the gaming industry in the state of Ohio and to promote and encourage the advancement of the gaming industry in Ohio."
The organization's chairman is Charles Ruma, president of the Beulah Park racetrack in Grove City, south of Columbus.
Learn and Earn spokesman Linda Siefkas said Ohio's seven racetracks, including Toledo's Raceway Park, and the developers behind two proposed Cleveland slots parlors, Jeff Jacobs and Albert Ratner, have each pledged to contribute $1.5 million to the Ohio Legacy Fund for the effort. She said there are no other sources of funding.
"They have pledged to raise what is needed to have Ohioans have the chance to vote on a scholarship fund," she said. "We don't have anything to hide."
Learn and Earn directly paid $1.4 million to FieldWorks, a professional petition circulation firm based in Washington.
Learn and Earn will ask voters to approve up to 3,500 slot machines at each of the state's seven racetracks and the downtown Cleveland sites. If approved, Cuyahoga County voters could later vote to expand to other forms of casino gaming.
Thirty percent of the revenue would be earmarked for scholarships for qualifying students to attend in-state colleges and universities. Fifteen percent would go to local governments, larger horse-racing purses, and gambling addiction services.
Ms. Siefkas said Learn and Earn will submit some 50,000 more signatures to the secretary of state's office next week.
"If the trend continues and half of them are valid, we will have more than met the requirement and will have a bit of a cushion," she said. "We should have no trouble getting certified for the ballot." |
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
