Supporters of gambling in Ohio rolled the dice and came up big winners on Tuesday as Ohio voters approved Issue 3, 10TV's Kurt Ludlow reported.
Casinos will be coming to Toledo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus.
The Columbus casino will be called Hollywood Casino and be built in the Arena District at the corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Hocking Street.
Penn National Gaming' multi-million dollar gamble to bring a casino here paid off, despite the fact that Columbus voters opposed the plan.
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"We hope to earn the trust and confidence of the people here in our host community, in Columbus, and indeed in Franklin County. And dispel a lot of the myths. A lot of the propaganda," said Penn National Gaming's Eric Schippers.
But first things first the 300,000-square-foot building has to be built.
Expected to open by 2012, it will bring with it 2,000 permanent jobs something supporters said is needed in Ohio's ailing economy.
"I think it's going to be good job creation and ultimately will keep the money in the county," said Issue 3 supporter Vaios Theodorakos.
Issue 3 supporter Paul Mulvaney agreed.
"I'm from Massachusetts and we have a casino down in Connecticut and it's done great for the town it's in," Mulvaney said.
The ground isn't even broken yet and critics are demanding changes.
One lawmaker wants to raise the casino's tax rate from 33 percent to 60 percent, Ludlow
reported.
"We're going to give the legislature a chance to take a look at this, rather than a couple
billionaires from out of town," said Rep. Clyde Evans, R-District 87.
Casino executives said they are determined to pay off on their promises.
"I think the voters of Ohio spoke yesterday. They knew what the issues are. They saw a lot of information, pro and con. And it's now time to move on and begin work to create jobs," said Penn National President Tim Wilmott.
Meanwhile, businesses in the Arena Distirct hope to benefit from casino crowds, but admit they are not sure how successful they will be.
Dale's deli is just down the street from the casino site but owner Travis Dale said he has doubts casino customers will patronize his deli much.
"I'm not sure how much of a crowd I'm going to get from the casino itself - being open Monday through Friday 7a.m. to 3 p.m.," Dale said. "Maybe some high rollers I'll get in the morning on the way home or something as far as late night crowd and weekends we're not going to see a whole lot of that."
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