After five tries in the last 20 years the voters of Ohio found a casino proposal they were willing to accept Tuesday. Issue 3 passed statewide by a 186,557 votes, with just under 53 percent of Ohioans voting for the measure.
The constitutional amendment passed in Brown County by 63.14 percent. A majority of county residents voted for the amendment in 31 of Ohio's 88 counties, with most counties along Lake Erie and the Ohio River voting for it. Columbus was the only city that will be receiving a casino that did not have a majority of voters for the amendment. Just 41 percent of Franklin county voters chose the casinos, though the suburbs of Toledo also voted against it.
Hamilton County passed the amendment by the widest margin in the state with 66.69 percent of the voters for the casinos. Lima's Allen county passed the measure by the lowest margin with 50.08 percent of the voters for it. The yeahs and the nays were separated by just 39 votes.
There will be four casinos built across the state, one each in Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati. The Cincinnati casino will be built downtown just north of the Proctor and Gamble building on a 20-acre lot currently occupied by parking lots and abandoned buildings.
The General Assembly is required to pass legislation within the next six months that will establish the regulations for the casinos and allow the projects to move forward. The state will initially collect $200 million in licensing fees for the four casinos and each casino is required to invest at least $250 million in the construction of their facility.
The Ohio Department of Taxation has estimated that once all four casinos are in full operation the state should collect $643 million in taxes annually, assuming the video lottery terminals do not go into operation. The amendment requires that 90 percent of the taxes collect go to local county governments and school districts. The remaining 10 percent will be divided between the Ohio Gaming Commission, the Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati city coffers, and the seven Ohio racetracks.
Two other state issues also passed Tuesday. A vote authorizing the state to take on debt to fund benefits for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars passed by a wide margin. More than 72 percent of Ohioans were for the issuing the bonds.
Issue 2, which establishes a board that will oversee animal welfare on farms across the state passed by more than 63 percent. Every county in Ohio, with the exception of Athens County, voted in favor of the measure.
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