The libertarian dilemma, Issue 3

Last June, I posted my distaste for the horrible casino issues we keep getting in this state.

I don't go to casinos and I don't care if you go. In my opinion, casinos are a monumental waste of money, time and energy. But I like my beer and for some that would be a monumental waste of money, time and energy.

So I don't care if we have a casino in every square mile of Ohio, I won't be there and it doesn't bother me if you go there.

None the less, I'm going to ring the clue phone to the jack asses who keep putting these casino votes on the ballot and explain to them why I keep voting them down and why Ohioans in general keep voting them down.

When you vote for a gambling issue, you are not voting for legalized gaming in Ohio, you are voting for a legal real estate/gaming cartel.

In this particular vote, we get to vote for a casino in one of four predetermined locations around the state. Wouldn't you just know that the guys who put the ballot up for vote just happen to own that particular real estate.

So what incentive does someone in Marietta, Lima, Portsmouth, Warren, Sidney, Springfield, et al. have to vote for a casino? They get no benefit from any development that occurs from casino activity. In fact, you could argue that money gets sapped from their communities just like Indiana and Michigan sucks money out of Ohio.

Here's a take from MVRed in Youngstown

Supporters of Issue 3 can go on and on about how
this area will receive $11 million annually in casino revenues, but these supporters fail to realize this Amendment will make it nearly impossible for a casino to ever be built right here in the Mahoning Valley! I don’t know about you, but I’d love to see a casino built in downtown Youngstown sometime in my lifetime.

If the casino supporters truly want to pass a piece of legislation that a MAJORITY of Ohioans will pass, then they need to make casino gambling legal in the ENTIRE state, not just the four largest cities. The reason these ballot measures continue to fail is because they are granting a handful of locations the ability to build casinos, NOT the entire State, which is wrong.

He is 100% correct.

If the dipsticks in this state want legalized casino's they'd set up a commission to issue gamimg licenses. In order to get a license you'd have to go through capitalization and legal guidelines with a healthy application fee.

Then you can leave it up to each individual community to establish zoning guidelines just like you have with bars, strip joints and race tracks.

By doing that, an Ohioan in Nelsonville or Cambridge or Sandusky can feel like they have a vested interest in Ohio gaming.

As it is now, unless you live in one of the "chosen" cities, Ohioans get to vote to make sure they'll never get a casino.

Vote No on 3.