Studies: Casinos worth $12 bil. a year

Nick Juliano

Thursday, Aug. 25, 2005 | 9:45 a.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Casinos in Ohio could generate up to $12 billion in revenue from gaming and other industry annually while causing a 43 percent increase in the number of Ohioans who develop gambling problems, according to two studies commissioned by business groups released on Wednesday.

Casinos would create 85,000 jobs and generate about _$610 million in state and local tax revenue, according to one study by Strategic Partner Management Consulting.

"We found that the potential for gaming -- the speculative nature about whether gaming would occur, when it would occur, where it might occur -- started to also impact other development opportunities," said Joe Roman, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, which represents Cleveland businesses and helped commission the studies.

Critics said the studies overstated gambling's benefits while downplaying its negatives.

Roman said businesses in Cleveland were holding off on plans to build or expand because they wanted to see if casinos would be built in the city so they could capitalize on increased business they would bring.

The study was based on hypothetical models of casino locations throughout the state that would maximize their effectiveness. It estimated that Ohioans would spend _$2.975 billion at casinos, including most of the _$925 million they now spend at casinos in neighboring states, and visitors would add approximately _$1 billion. It estimated about _$8 billion in total revenue would be generated by casino-related industries such as hotels and restaurants.

The model assumed 11 casinos would be built in locations designed to put facilities closer than those in other states while minimize competition among markets. It also assumed slot machines would go into Ohio's seven racetracks.

The assumption that Ohioans can be prevented from traveling to other states to gamble is flawed, said David Zanotti, a critic of the study.

"They obviously don't know much about gambling because people in Detroit drive to Windsor (Ontario) every day," said Zanotti, president and CEO of the Ohio Roundtable, a conservative group that opposes efforts to legalize casino gambling in the state.

Ohioans have twice rejected casino gambling proposals since 1990. Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell is pushing an effort to get another proposal on the ballot in November 2006 to leave the decision whether to allow casinos up to cities.

Ohio allows bingo, wagering on horse races and a state-sponsored lottery but forbids casino gambling. Gov. Bob Taft opposes casinos.

Another study released Wednesday by the Maxine Levin Goodman College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University estimated that 252,000 Ohioans -- 3 percent of the state's adult population -- already have a gambling addiction and that casinos in Ohio would add 109,000 problem gamblers.

"I think any increase is a significant increase," said Abigail Horn, one of the study's co-authors. But she said the state isn't doing enough to address the existing gambling problem.

Her study said Ohio should allocate nearly _$23 million to help the problem gamblers it estimates already live in the state, and the amount would grow to about _$30 million if new casinos open. The Ohio Lottery Commission currently allots about _$350,000 to programs aimed at gambling addicts.

The Greater Cleveland Partnership partnered with several Cincinnati businesses to fund the studies, which cost _$300,000. The partnership hasn't decided whether it supports initiatives to bring casinos to Ohio and would decide soon, president and CEO Roman said.

"We really wanted to get the data first," he said.

Roman said critics offered sensational examples of negatives associated with gambling without putting the issue into perspective.

"It is a significant issue," he said. "But let's deal with the facts."