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Voters will see ad blitz on casino issue
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
COLUMBUS — TV viewers should brace themselves for a multi-million dollar advertising campaigns to persuade them to vote for and against Issue 6, a constitutional amendment for a casino in southwest Ohio.
The No on 6 Committee planned to launch TV ads statewide beginning Tuesday, Sept. 23. The No on 6 Committee is funded largely by Penn National Gaming, which owns Raceway Park in Toledo and Argosy Lawrenceberg in Indiana as well as 10 other casinos.
The No on 6 Committee declined to say how much they'll spend but the MyOhioNow Committee, which is proposing the casino, said it plans to spent about $14 million to persuade voters to say Yes.
Penn National sunk millions into a statewide campaign two years ago to get voters to approve casino gambling across Ohio, including at its race track in Toledo.
The No on 6 Committee lodged a challenge to MyOhioNow, saying MyOhioNow, its principals and its petition circulating company failed to file required disclosure forms before they started gathering signatures to get the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is expected to hold a hearing on the protest on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
Attorney Don McTigue, who represents MyOhioNow, said, "Our response is they clearly do not understand the law. This is a frivolous protest brought at the eleventh hour because they're afraid they'll lose at the ballot."
MyOhioNow wants a constitutional amendment to allow them to build a $600 million casino at I-71 and State Route 73 near Wilmington. The group says it'll create 5,000 new jobs with an average pay of $34,000 a year and generate $200 million in annual revenue that will be shared among Ohio's 88 counties.
A third committee — Vote No Casinos — opposes all casino gambling. They noted that the Lake County Board of Elections, sheriff's department and prosecutor are investigating possible fraud by petition circulators hired to get voter signatures to put the casino issue on the ballot.
Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.
