Ohio voted on their Issue 3 yesterday in their General Election.
The issue passed with a 6 point margin. Â The final vote:
1,659,029Â For (53%)
1,471,192 Against (47%)
3,130,221
Not surprisingly, all of the Northwestern counties in Ohio voted against. Â Allen County (Lima) voted for as well as Putnam County. Â Putnam County, although a rual county, did not surprise me. Â I grew up in Van Wert and worked with many friends from the Ottoville area. Â The vote of support fits with what I remember about the attitudes then – some 20 years ago.
Now the question becomes, should Mayor Tom Henry continue his pursuit of a casino license for Fort Wayne?
Consider the statement contained in the recent Gaming Study Commitee report on the Estimates of the Fiscal Impacts from Out-of-State Casino Competition and Movement of Casino Licenses in Indiana:
[…] A gaming facility in Toledo, Ohio, could potentially compete in many of the eastern counties in the estimated market area of a Fort Wayne casino. Based on analysis of the population in these areas, it is estimated that the win from a Fort Wayne casino would decline by 17% to 18% if a Toledo gaming facility opened. This impact on the win is estimated to reduce the tax revenue impact of a Fort Wayne casino by 25% to 26%.
The reduction would bring possible revenues of $22.8 million into the State.
Weigh in on the issue of continuing the pursuit of a casino license by voting in the poll to the left, just under the banner image.
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