Supporters of Ohio casino will not give up fight

6 November 2008

OHIO -- As reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Backers of Tuesday's failed casino referendum say they are gearing up for another try: This time they will propose several casinos around the state, including in Cleveland.

"Rick Lertzman, co-founder of MyOhioNow, said he plans to soon begin the process to collect signatures for a petition to get a casino proposal on the ballot for November 2009.

'We have been talking to coalitions and groups in many parts of the state, including Clinton County, Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown and Cincinnati, interested in joining the effort for casinos,' he said. 'We learned a lot from Tuesday night's loss, and we'll address it.'

"Issue 6, a state constitutional amendment that would have permitted one casino in Clinton County, lost by a vote of about 63 percent to 37 percent, or 3,153,553 to 1,885,839, according to final, unofficial results. The issue passed only in Clinton County and four counties nearby. It was the fourth time a gambling ballot issue had lost in Ohio since 1990.

"Lertzman said that the next proposal would give other Ohio counties the same 30 percent of the gross gambling profits as Tuesday's failed proposal but that backers would reword the amendment to address opponents' criticism..."