"We told the Governor, we tell everybody, look, we have gaming in Ohio now," said Cleveland Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. "What we have to do is do it the right way, where it positively affects the communities the most and creates the most jobs."

Gilbert, who would run the casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati, and Penn National president Tim Wilmott, who would run the casinos in Columbus and Toledo, did their best to win over lackluster political support.

"We talked a little bit about the process of development and getting everything up and running. Like I said in Columbus last week, our hope and expectation is that we could have something up and running by 2012," said Wilmott.

Governor Ted Strickland is not sold.  He opposed Issue 3.

"I did not ask for this meeting," Strickland told ONN's Jim Heath. "I received a call so I agreed to meet."

Strickland points out that while Issue 3 was approved by a majority of voters in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo, it failed in Franklin County.

"I find that troublesome," said Strickland. "I don't know what the options are, or what the remedy may be."

One remedy may be another referendum next May that could remove the Columbus casino.

But Wilmott is adamant the Arena District location is a go.

"In the referendum the site was specifically hard wired into the referendum," Wilmott commented. "So there's no flexibility on the site at all."

Gilbert also faced questions over his new business partner, controversial Minnesota gaming tycoon Lyle Berman.

"He'll be, you know, in an advisory, consultant role," Gilbert told Heath. "But certainly not, in no way shape, in a management role."

Gilbert and Wilmott also met with Republican Senate president Bill Harris, who like Strickland opposed Issue 3.

"Not a long meeting," is how Harris spokeswoman Maggie Ostrowski described the event. "They didn't get into the details, just an initial discussion of implementing the language of Issue 3."

Opposition from both Democrat Strickland and Republican Harris created the urgency for today's casino pitch.

"We're going to be a good business partner," Wilmott explained. "We're going to create very good jobs and we're going to create a lot of energy in the downtown area here in Columbus."

"This is a process where we want to take everybody's feedback, opinion, and try to incorporate it into what we said we would deliver," added Gilbert.

©2009 by ONN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.