Comments on: Issue 3 Ohio Results | Ohio Election Results 2009

By: Larry

Larry — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:11:32 +0000

Andy, Everything is a “religious debate”. Just because your religion is secularism doesn’t make it less religious. And this country was not founded on the “seperation of church and state”, it was founded on the belief that “All Men are created equal and endowed by their creator with cretain enaliable rights”. And this is a uniquely Christian concept.

By: andy

andy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:38:13 +0000

Thanks for the intelligent social commentary matt . And thanks to this website for censoring my post about the out of work police officers who will benefit from this. I guess if I was a religious zealot like the rest of these people, I would’ve gotten my two cents in. Instead they chose not to post it at all. My point is we already have drugs, crime and serial killers in Cleveland. Is a casino that has no hotel going to make that even worse? Doubtfully. Is it going to put more police in the streets? Probably. One small casino in a city isnt going to turn Cleveland into the “new Detroit” the citizens have already done that themselves.
Gambling is a choice like any other vice. I guess we should ban McDonalds and Burger King next? Or maybe Free speech? This nation was founded on separation of church and state, so when the state votes, leave the church at home please. This is an economic issue not a religious debate.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:38:23 +0000

The people arguing that they will be minimum wage paying jobs, I’d say the ~10% of people who are unemployed would rather be making minimum wage rather than nothing…

By: Randall

Randall — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:28:25 +0000

I voted against the casinos because: 1. the amendment has a clause that overrules all city and county land and zoning rules, and therefore opens the way for a business possibly to destroy the homes of innocent citizens to build the facilities. 2. it discriminates against non-profits that will likely no longer be able to carry out similar games, against other for-profit companies that might wish to build competing casinos (thereby creating a monopoly), and against communities and cities such as Dayton that will not be able to have casinos themselves. While I appreciate the argument that one person should not force his or her own morals and values on another – God himself does not force a person to do anything, after all – there is still the possibility that a person who might lose everything to an addiction such as gambling may leave behind a foreclosed home and do his part to negatively impact his neighbor as well, and in the end that hurts all of us.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:13:01 +0000

What I’m confused about is how the casinos are going to bring in out of state revenue. Indiana has its own casinos. Kentucky has its race tracks and can also visit Indiana’s riverboat. Michigan has its own casinos. West Virgina has its race tracks and I believe slot machines. Who will come to Ohio for a vacation when they can gamble in their own state or go somewhere glitzy like Las Vegas? Maybe, people from Pennsylvania will come but why when they can just go to New Jersey to gamble. Plus, when Ohio’s own citizens start spending their own money at the easily accessible casinos, it means that the money that might have otherwise gone to clothing , other forms of entertainment, and/or other goods won’t go there. What will that mean for other businesses? Will people at those businesses lose their jobs because of the need for that business to downsize? So are we really creating more jobs in the long run or are we just transferring the types of jobs available in Ohio? Plus what about the taxes that would have been generated for the state from the sale of goods that won’t be sold because people would prefer to spend their extra money on gambling because its the fun new entertainment? Will the taxes generated from gambling cover and exceed the cost of the taxes lost from sales at local businesses? Ok, so now let’s talk about problem gamblers. There have been numerous studies done that type A personalities are more prone to becoming problem gamblers yet type A’s are generally your better employees until they become problem gamblers. Once they become problem gamblers productivity at their place of business will go down. What will that cost local businesses in the long run? Even though problem gamblers are a small percentage of the population they can cost a community a lot of money. But since issue 3 was passed we will all have to live with whatever consequences it will bring. Hopefully they will be good but there is an overwhelming amount of research and statistics that indicate otherwise. I do think that since we are to have casinos that it was good that there was a monopoly given to only four. Free enterprise with casinos has been proven to be a disaster in most states that have legalized casinos; it has something to do with spreading the profits too thin which keeps the casinos from investing money back in to make improvements and keep the casinos nice. To be truly informed one must look at both sides of an argument. Most of the time no issue is good or bad but somewhere between the two.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:53:02 +0000

Very disappointing. Boy can’t wait for the utopia to begin here in Ohio now that the casinos are coming. Jobs & Money galore!!! Woohoo!!!Didn’t they promise the same thing when the Ohio Lottery was voted in…education was suppose to rock and roll with the money from the lottery rolling in…ummm yeah, that worked. Too bad I’m not Julia with just memories of Ohio, instead I gotta live right next door to the casino that’s gonna be build…awesome.

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:43:29 +0000

What is said is all the religious morons on here that would rather restrict freedoms in the name of faith. The US was built on freedoms and all they want to do is take them away because they don’t believe in them. Freedom comes in having the choice to participate or not, if you don’t like them, don’t believe in them, don’t go/do them, its that easy. Stop shoving your ideals down our throats. You bible thumpers are the biggest hypocrites ever.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:28:14 +0000

No matter how you feel about gambling this issue was a nad deal cuz it gave a monopoly to one company. Imagine if the bill was to make British Petroleum the only place you could buy gasoline nobody would vote for it cuz you need competition. But we’ve just done the same thing for the companies building the casinos. Why?

By: mike

mike — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:25:57 +0000

“”"This is tragic, we are now saying to count on sin to carry us through hard times, Why did everyone forget to count on God.”
Hey Kem,
People like you, who would be against the choice that is obviously, the best direction for the state to go, in the name of your religion, confound me. So you really think that all the jobs and revenue that this is going to generate are a sin? There is a simple solution that people like you don’t seem to be capable of grasping. If you don’t like the casino do go to it, likewise, if you don’t like something on T.V. don’t watch it, if you don’t like same gender relationship’s, don’t date someone of your same gender and you wont have to worry about it.
So you and Jesus can kick it at your house and keep each other company, I’m going to shoot some dice at our new casino!!!”"”"”"

******* this is a classy comment!!!!! Rock on dude!

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:11:58 +0000

I can’t tell you how sick I am of hearing these religious idiots spouting off on things they know nothing about. And why do they feel obligated to shake their finger at gamblers? Because they base their lives on what a book says is sinful…a book that also says a man lived inside of a giant fish for a few days. Give me a break.

As for the argument of casinos ruining families..nonsense! I believe someone mentioned this earlier, but the addiction is already a part of the person gambling away their money. We’ve had lottery for years! If someone is addicted to gambling in this state I can assure you they found plenty of ways and places to satiate their addiction before these casinos. This argument is like blaming McDonald’s for your neighbors fat ass.

Great job, Ohio! We needed more entertainment in this state. I was for Issue 3 not because of the job creation, increased revenue for the state, or what have you but, as mentioned, I just wanted more entertainment options.

Don’t think that I forgot about you fear mongering people who have posted about crime. Really? Increased crime? Show me statistics and not just right-wing bible-thumping opinions.

My last thought before I finish up is aimed (again) at the bible-toters. Why would you feel so offended if not as much money goes to the state as what they want us to believe but rather fills the pockets of casino owners? How much money do you drop twice a week at your church? I forget, do religious establishments have to pay taxes?