By Dan Horn
Enquirer
Walk around any casino parking lot in Indiana,
Michigan or West Virginia and it's impossible to miss all the cars with
Ohio and Kentucky license plates. From Warren County
in Ohio to Kenton County in Kentucky, thousands of residents travel
every year to bet on games they can't play at home. The exodus proves a
point that even gambling opponents no longer dispute: Greater
Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky make up one of the strongest potential
casino markets in America. The region has the population, river and
interstate access that inspires casino developers and keeps opponents
on constant guard. Most local residents, regardless
of their views on gambling, expect to see casinos or racetrack slot
machines here within five years, a new Enquirer/WCPO poll finds. "It's
the best spot in the country to bring casinos, no question about it,"
says Jerry Carroll, a Kentucky developer who would like to build one
himself. "You put a casino along the riverfront or along the I-75
corridor in Northern Kentucky, and you couldn't build it big enough." Plenty of politicians and business leaders now share Carroll's view, if not his enthusiasm. Supporters
in Ohio and Kentucky claim that nearly $1 billion a year could be
raised in gambling taxes for their financially struggling states. The
mayors of Cincinnati and Cleveland want casinos in their cities, and
horse track owners want slot machines at the tracks. Momentum
is so high that opponents in both states are rallying to stall any
moves to legalize gambling beyond the bingo, horse racing and lottery
already allowed. The last thing this area needs, they say, are casinos
to create more crime, corruption and family dysfunction. "We're
going to work harder than we ever have," says Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper,
leader of Kentucky's 800,000-member Council of Churches. No matter where they stand, however, few doubt that casinos here would draw big crowds and money. Among the reasons: The
success of three casino boats along the Ohio River in nearby southeast
Indiana. They reported bringing in $735 million last year, making the
area the 12th richest casino market of 48 in America. Gamblers leave
more money at the Argosy Casino & Hotel in Lawrenceburg than at any
other boat in the country. Proximity to the Ohio
River and Interstates 75 and 71. The river makes casino boats a
possibility in Cincinnati or Kentucky, and the interstates could
provide easy access to land-based casinos for millions of travelers.
Developers already have targeted sites. The
popularity of legal gambling. Ohioans spend $2 billion and Kentuckians
spend $725 million on the lottery every year. Horse racing has been
popular in both states for decades, and countless charities rely on
casino nights and bingo to pay their bills. Nearly 350,000 people from
Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky visit casinos in Indiana or
Illinois every year, according to Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Casino companies are ready. Harrah's
recently partnered with Turfway Park horse racing track in Florence.
Columbus-based Scioto Downs track is owned by MTR Gaming Group Inc.,
which owns Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va. Raceway
Park horse track in Toledo soon will be owned by Argosy Gaming Co.,
which operates the Indiana boat. When a $2.2 billion deal closes later
this year as expected, Argosy will be sold to Penn National Gaming, a
major gambling company that owns or manages nine casinos, four
racetracks and six off-track wagering facilities nationwide. Bill
Yung, president of Columbia Sussex Corp., the Fort Mitchell-based
company that owns six casinos nationwide, says Northern Kentucky could
easily support four casinos right now. "They would
do great," Yung says. "We're right across from a big city here in
Northern Kentucky. That's where a lot of gamblers would come from." Harrah's
agrees. "Certainly, because of the size of the Cincinnati market, it
would make sense for our company to be there," spokesman David Strow
says. "We are in an excellent position to participate should legalized
gambling ever happen." Long-standing resistance
Anti-gambling forces understand the enthusiasm. In
2003, Americans made more trips to casinos than to professional
baseball games, zoos and aquariums combined, according to the American
Gaming Association. But the local potential alone is not enough to bring casinos to Ohio or Kentucky anytime soon. Opposition
in both state capitals and long-standing resistance in rural counties
are considerable. Ohio voters shot down ballot initiatives on casinos
in 1990 and 1996, and top state officeholders continue to oppose
casinos. Kentucky's legislature quit for this year without taking any
action on gambling. Even so, a majority of Kentuckians said in a statewide poll in February that they want slot machines at racetracks. And in Ohio, a new Enquirer
survey finds that most state lawmakers would put casinos or slot
machines up for a statewide vote this fall - if details on spending the
profits could be worked out. As in other states, money is driving the debate. Proponents
say Ohio casinos could bring in more than $500 million a year for
schools, tax cuts or other uses. Kentucky casinos could create $400
million annually in new taxes in that state, according to some
estimates. Argosy officials forecast a $1 billion-a-year market in southeast Indiana once improvements are made on the three boats there. The money would come from people like Michelle Lee of Lima, Ohio, who travels across state lines to gamble at Argosy. Every
day, customers start arriving in early afternoon and keep coming all
evening. Before they leave, they gamble away hundreds of thousands of
dollars on slot machines and table games. "When you
see these crowds and the long lines, it makes you wonder: Why doesn't
Ohio have gambling?" says Lee, leaving Argosy one recent night.
"There's no sense in seeing all this money going to Indiana." But casinos are a gamble. Economists
say their benefits often are outweighed by hidden costs, such as
compulsive gambling and reduced spending at other local businesses. "The
notion that somehow we're all going to gamble ourselves to economic
salvation is just false," says Earl Grinols, an economist and the
author of Gambling in America: Costs and Benefits. "It's a bogus argument." A sense of momentum
Most adults in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
now favor legalizing casino gambling in this region, according to the
Enquirer/WCPO poll. But voters here won't have the final say. Statewide
initiatives likely would be needed to legalize casinos, and the last
attempt in Ohio nine years ago lost in all 88 counties. History,
however, shows states have gradually embraced gambling in the three
decades since Atlantic City pioneered major casinos outside of Nevada.
Today, the $600 billion-a-year gambling industry touches every state
except Utah and Hawaii. See the growth of gambling in the U.S.. More
than 400 land-based and riverboat casinos operate in 11 states. Indian
tribes run casinos or bingo halls in 25 states. And in Greater
Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, churches rely on charitable bingo,
poker tournaments and casino-style gambling at summer festivals as a
good way to raise cash. Kentucky and Ohio also are
among 40 states with lotteries, one of the most popular forms of legal
gambling in America. Ohio has had a lottery since 1974; Kentucky
started playing in 1989. Lotteries sometimes serve as a precursor to casino gambling. "That's
always the camel's nose in the tent," says John Wolf of the Indiana
Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. "Once you change the constitution
in the state (to allow gambling), the politicians latch onto it because
it's a quick fix for revenue sources." Sometimes,
pressure from neighboring states can hasten legalization. Mississippi
opened a casino in 1992, and Louisiana followed in 1993. Louisiana
feared losing tax dollars as residents gambled next door at Gulf Coast
and Mississippi River casinos. That's part of the
argument in Ohio and Kentucky today. Except for Kentucky, Ohio is
surrounded by states that allow either casinos or slot machines at
racetracks. Kentucky gamblers can, and do, gamble in adjacent Indiana,
Illinois and West Virginia. Ohio Rep. Lou Blessing, a Colerain Township Republican, wants slot machines at racetracks to keep the money here. "I'm not so concerned what the money is spent on. I just want to make sure it stays in Ohio," Blessing says. Economic pitfalls
Gary Anders, an Arizona economist who has studied casinos, says gambling supporters should be careful what they wish for. Casinos
make economic sense, he says, if most of the gamblers come from
elsewhere. But if the market is saturated and everyone lives close to a
casino, the state is just taxing its own people in another way. "When
gambling becomes ubiquitous, you are basically cannibalizing yourself,"
Anders says. "It only works when you import customers from other
states." Five years ago, Detroit opened three
casinos in hopes of boosting tourism and keeping local gamblers from
spending their money across the Detroit River, at Casino Windsor in
Canada. The Detroit casinos have succeeded in
keeping $100 million a year in taxes but have failed to generate much
tourism: At least 80 percent of Detroit casino customers are from metro
Detroit. "You're shifting money around from other
parts of the economy," says William Thompson, who studies gambling and
teaches at University of Nevada Las Vegas. He says
social problems such as crime, bankruptcies and lost productivity
further erode the advantages of casinos. A federal commission in 1999
estimated the social costs of gambling at $5 billion a year nationwide. "No matter how you want to cut it, gambling fails a costs-benefits test," economist Grinols says. But
national studies have reached many different conclusions, and the
negatives attributed to gambling are hard to pin down because they also
are tied to swings in the economy. Gambling supporters say the combination of more jobs, tax revenue and entertainment trumps the negatives. "Yeah,
I'd like to get some tax money from it," Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken
said last year, after counting Ohio license plates at Argosy and
declaring it's time for a casino here. "But more importantly, I'm
interested in the attraction that will bring people downtown, create
jobs and help the economy." E-mail . Enquirer reporters Ken Alltucker, Patrick Crowley and Jim Siegel contributed to this report.
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