Gambling news from http://www.crainscleveland.com/
Local political leaders rallied at Cleveland City Hall this morning to re-emphasize their support for Issue 3, the state constitutional amendment that would open up Ohio for gambling.
With Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson making opening remarks for a dozen public officials behind him atop the City Hall steps, the talk was foremost about jobs, education and economic development, with the use of gambling regarded as the means to these other ends.
Issue 3 would allow slot machines at the state’s race tracks and two standalone casinos in Cleveland. It also would allow voters in Cuyahoga County eventually to vote on whether to allow full casino gambling. State and local governments would split a healthy portion of the gambling revenues — about 38% — with most of the money used to provide college scholarships.
How much scholarship money casino profits can support is unclear. Supporters are using a figure of $850 million a year, while the state office of budget and management has estimated only $324 million.
A smaller part of the public take would be divided among cities and counties for economic development.
The hefty Jimmy Dimora, a county commissioner, announced that he was “putting my full weight behind this issue” and called the so-called Learn & Earn ballot issue “our only hope for economic development.”
County commissioner Peter Lawson Jones responded to a question about the morality of gambling by saying, “The real immorality is college students who mortgage their futures or can’t afford college. We would be immoral if we didn’t support Issue 3.”
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