Slot Machine Issue Haze

The Issue 3 pro-slot machine people are at it again. The latest direct-mail piece from the group says that if you vote yes you are voting for children, for the American Dream, for college scholarships and against the politics of the state. What they don’t have all over the brochure is the fact that by voting yes for all of that, you are also voting yes for slot machines.

This is the third time someone has tried to get Ohioans to vote yes for slot machines in the last 15 years; the other two slot machine attempts were defeated at the polls. Supporters and opponents have been throwing the facts about the slot machines back and forth, but the nuts and bolts of the case are that it is a constitutional amendment that will be added if slot machines are approved.

The slot machine amendment would allow a maximum of 31,500 slot machines at nine locations in the state of Ohio. Most of the slot machines will be at racetracks, with two being stand alone facilities. The majority of the money will go to the owners of the racetracks, with 30% going to college scholarships, 8% for economic development, and 1% for gambling addiction services.

The breakdowns will stay as they are unless another constitutional amendment is voted in that changes allocations, or repeals it. The educational funding part of it is only for college funding, and would have no impact on elementary or secondary schools. Part of the problem is that by approving the slot machines, they would also be able to add Cuyahoga County voters to expand to table gaming later on if they wanted to.

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