Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The campaign behind a proposal to expand gambling in Ohio submitted enough
valid signatures in its second attempt to get the initiative on the November
ballot, state elections officials said Tuesday. The group, which is
promoting a plan to put slot machines at Ohio's seven horse racetracks and
two freestanding sites in downtown Cleveland, failed in its initial attempt
last month, submitting 8,716 fewer signatures than the 322,899 required.
Given 10 days to make up the difference, the campaign, called Learn and
Earn, turned in 26,081 valid signatures, said James Lee, spokesman for the
Ohio Secretary of State's office. The plan, backed by a group of racetrack
owners and casino developers, would set aside about 30 percent of annual
gambling profits - $852 million a year - for college tuition grants, the
group says. "People of Ohio are excited about this issue, and we're excited
that they will have the opportunity to vote on this," said Robin Hepler,
spokeswoman with Learn and Earn.
Opponents argue the ballot issue aims to change the state constitution to
benefit a select group of businessmen. They also predict that the slot
machines will create more gambling addiction problems.

"We vow to fight it," said David Zanotti president of the Ohio Roundtable, a
public advocacy group that successfully fought previous gambling proposals.
He is co-chairman of the Vote No Casinos Committee.