Posts Tagged ‘Ohio’
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
The state of Ohio has long been embroiled in a bitter battle over legalizing gambling. On one side there was the pro-gambling initiative that believes that the huge tax revenue dollars available via gambling is too big to turn down. In particular after the recession, pro gamblers petitioned hard for gambling to be brought into the state. On the other hand though was a just as passionate group who believed it was a mistake to legalize gambling. They believe that it will only bring in crime, corruption, addictions and money laundering. Without the proper addiction services and police force to handle the growth, the state would surely fall into a disaster. Now, the debates are over and via a vote gambling is going to be legalized and regulated in Ohio. Still, there are a lot of loose ends to tie up.
One loose end is the formation of an Ohio Casino Control Commission. This is going to be a regulatory board that is going to watch the rise of gambling within the state and make sure that its citizens are protected and the proper safeguards are in place to protect all parties involved. They also want to make sure that if there is a rise in crime or addiction, they have a viable plan to increase resources available to manage them. Governor Ted Strickland is set to make a decision on who the seven members of this commission will be next month. He is weighting out the options and looking to make a commission that is well rounded and able to look at issues from both anti- and pro- gambling perspectives. He wants the best of both worlds to police Ohio gambling as it grows with the communities. Though it is his decision, he has some regulations. He can only pick four people of the same political party and the four counties housing the casinos have to be individually represented by one member who resides in that specific county. He also has to have a mix of business experience with one person who specializes in law enforcement, one in accounting, and one in law. It may sound like a lot of stipulations, but the gaming board wants to ensure that the commission has the right mix of experience and viewpoint to best serve the state.
Tags: commission, control, Ohio, Stickland
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Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
The Harrah Entertainment name is synonymous with gambling. Over the past seventy-plus years, Harrah’s has maintained a huge name in the market. It is a gaming company that has over fifty casinos worldwide, along with hotels, golf courses and other entertainment centers. It began back in 1937 as small bingo parlor but quickly went public after a lot of gambling success. William F. Harrah was the founder and he knew what he was doing in terms of bringing great gambling to the market. Ohio has not seen gambling within the state, but residents still know how big a name Harrah Entertainment is. Now that the name is being thrown around in the community because of a pending casino facility, patrons are excited. No one is pushing out the option of bringing premiere gambling to the state especially with a gambling expert like Harrah’s being the one to do it. State officials are looking to Harrah’s as a way of competing with neighboring Indiana’s casino outlets. Indiana, unlike Ohio, has had land based casinos and has long provided gambling to millions of area residents. Now, with Ohio making a pitch for gambling they need to worry about whether or not their casino can viably compete with a casino entity as established as Indiana’s.
Harrah’s is promising to being a few brands to the state of Ohio, including the Cincinnati and Cleveland casino locations. They want to optimize gambling within the areas and give Ohio an immediate advantage over neighboring casinos. Though it is a difficult task, in a lot of way s it is forcing other casinos to step up their own games. They have to be ready to compete with a leader in the gambling industry like Harrah’s and that is no small task. Most likely it is going to be a while before things regulate and it is clearly seen who is winning out on the gambling fight for customers in the area. Ohio is new, but that doesn’t mean it should be counted out just yet and with a strong partner like Harrah’s Entertainment on its side, it just may have a fighting chance to win.
Tags: gambling, Harrah's, Indiana, Ohio
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Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
Gilbert Group is a company headed up by Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. His success in sports is now bringing him to a new business venture. Gilbert Group is set to take on the substantial task of opening casinos in both Cleveland and Cincinnati Ohio. Ohio of course is a state that has been heavy in debates over the question of casinos in the past few years. Voters opted to agree for four state of the art casinos being built in its borders. The four casinos are set to bring much-needed finances to the state but also to create jobs, another thing that the state needs.
The recession cut millions of jobs worldwide and Ohio was not immune. The state lost jobs and its unemployment rate sweltered at its height. This is why most voters were approving of bringing in the four casinos to spur on the economy of the state. There still were some voters who were wary of the move, but overall the pro-gambling residents won via sheer numbers of support. Now, Gilbert Group is set to take on the mission of two of those casinos and has a vision for greatness for each. He has commissioned Harrah’s Entertainment to do the actual building of the casinos and instill the state of the art games, casino floor and amenities for visitors. It is hoped that these two casinos will be a hub of gambling in the Ohio area, even gathering customers from neighboring states who want better gaming. The world of gambling is highly competitive and customers already know that if they can’t find what they want at their local casino, most likely what they do want is a few hours away. Or, at most they can log into an online casino for their gaming needs. This is why it is a great time to get in on gambling because of the sheer number of outstanding options. Gilbert Group is entering a competitive market, but with the expertise of Harrah’s Entertainment and the funds needed, most likely the two new casinos in Ohio will be premiere from the time they open for business.
Tags: casino, Cincinnatti, Cleveland, Gilbert, Ohio
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Thursday, August 19th, 2010
For years now Indiana has had premiere casinos for area residents to enjoy. The state is known for its outstanding casinos and has had quite a few years to hone those casinos. Any neighboring state looking to take on Indiana as a competitor is going to have to bring premiere gaming to their own location. Now, Ohio is the state challenging Indiana for the number one casinos in the Midwestern area. Ohio of course is on the brink of opening all four of its premiere locations for gambling. Columbus, Toledo, Cincinnati and Cleveland are the four locations that Harrah’s Entertainment is being tasked with bringing casinos to. The approval is already there and the casinos are up. Now Harrah’s has to evolve the casinos into truly lucrative money-making businesses for the state.
Of course Harrah’s Entertainment is a huge name in the world of gambling. It has casinos all over the world and has managed to keep its own name as a brand well known for excellence in gaming, resorts and entertainment centers. A lot of the company’s strategy revolves around using the Caesar’s brand as a recognizable name for excellence. It also tends to attract high-rollers so that is the name that the company is affiliating with the new projects throughout Ohio. State legislators are hoping for a huge push with their gambling industry and hoping that they can take on Indiana as a competitor. Remember that Indiana has been offering gambling for years so Ohio may have to do some fast catch up to get on the same level. On the other hand, with a strong development partner like Harrah’s, Ohio may be able to catch up relatively quickly in the market. It may not take as much since the casinos are not being updated like Indiana casinos. Rather, they are being built as premiere locations for gambling from the ground up by one of the leading gambling companies in the world. Though it may take some time, the casinos in Indiana are most likely going to suffer some losses from Ohio entering the market so strong with four top-notch casinos under its belt within a matter of months.
Tags: competition, gambling, Indiana, Ohio
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Thursday, August 19th, 2010
If you live in Ohio then you know how high the state’s overall unemployment rate is. It isn’t unique to the state. The recession of 2008/2009 was hard on economies everywhere. The banking crash cause many lenders to change the way they dealt with borrowers. They shored up rules to make it harder than ever for borrowers to be approved. With the lack of credit, consumers had to rely on cash revenue for survival. Unfortunately, the recession also brought to an end millions of jobs leaving consumers at a financial loss. Many of these jobs are never going to return. For example, Detroit Michigan’s economy is depressed. Much of the city was reliant on the automobile industry and when that crashed, it closed down the plant that employed hundreds of thousands of residents. The problem with their jobs though is that they will never return. This is the main reason why Detroit is having a hard time with recovery and has made few positive changes in its depressed market.
For Ohio though there is some hope. The state is turning to gambling as a means of increasing revenue. This is huge news in the market because of the long-standing pitch for legalizing gaming. Residents voted time and again against gambling and fought hard to keep it out of the state. Then, the economy proved to be the real turnaround factor. When the economy failed to rejuvenate like hoped, residents started looking at gambling in a different light. No longer did they see a potentially hazardous activity riddled with danger, but rather they see it as a way to spur their economy into growth once again. It may be the fact that the state of Ohio has one of the highest unemployment rates that tipped the scales in the other direction. Now, it is scheduled to bring gambling into the state in a big way. Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo and Cleveland are all four locations where these premiere locations are going to be built. It is estimated that the casinos will bring in $60 million over the next ten years. That money could be used to spur the economy into growth once again.
Tags: gambling, Ohio, recession, revenue
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Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Everyone knew that Ohio was set to make waves in the gambling market. It announced last year that it would be solidifying plans to create four new casinos—each one huge, each one premiere in its own right. The state positioned the casinos at the four main cities of Columbus, Toledo, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Penn National Gaming company is heading up the developments and already have released details on the Columbus Hollywood Casino. So far, it is set to be a 3,000 slot machine location that also allows for thirty poker tables along with seventy other table games. Any gambler should have hours of fun here—even seasoned gamblers who aren’t impressed by much in the world of gaming.
The casino is set to be a “moderate-sized” location despite the huge amount of games available. Penn National Gaming of course is a huge company that specializes in gaming developments. If you are a fan of gambling and visited large casinos throughout the nation most likely you have been in a Penn National Gaming creation. The company has been around for a while now and knows how to build casinos that are top-notch and create a huge buzz in the market. The secret partially is due to their expertise at varying games. You won’t just find one specialty here—rather the huge space allows for poker, baccarat, slots, roulette, backgammon and any other game you can think of. You will never get bored here if you just visit and test out all the games they have to offer.
Ohio is a state that is truly taking advantage of the gambling market. The state is set to develop four locations for premiere gaming and estimates that once they are all up and running, they could potentially bring in $1.8 billion a year in gambling revenue to the state. That’s a huge amount and any state would welcome it to help rebuild after the difficult recessionary period of last year. This is a great time for the state and most likely they will begin to reap benefits in coming months. Expect projections to be surpassed due to the overwhelming interest the public has shown in the new casinos and in gambling in general.
Tags: Columbus, gaming, National, Ohio, Penn
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Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
It was last November when the voting public in Ohio approved of four casinos in four major cities within the state. Part of their main reasoning for bringing casinos in was the potential job creation. During the recession one of the biggest problems was the heightened unemployment rate. No matter how hard the economy rallied, the unemployment rate continued to move up. Most US cities experienced a rate that was well into the double digits and some states even moved into the forty percent range at their worst. The difficulties posed made it hard for residents of the state of Ohio to say no when given the issue of building four mega-sized casinos.
Now that the four casinos are on their way to being a reality, developers are voicing their committment to hiring locals only for positions available once the casinos open. In addition, they are also saying that they will be hiring only local contractors and developers to build the casinos. This is carrying through with their former promise and proving to be welcomed news for all of the state’s residents. Most are still in some form of unemployment, or working only part time. They want to find permanent full time positions to carry them through their monthly bills and help them to meet their budgets. It will take some time for them to get the former levels of income pre-recession and this is a great start to helping them move forward financially.
Expect coming months to bring more and more jobs to the area. Hopefully, people will also come in and gamble at the four casinos. History has shown that just because they build it, doesn’t necessarily mean that people will come in and support it. Las Vegas’ City Center is a classic example of how difficult it can be to spur in new customers to casinos. City Center is MGM’s billion-dollar development that came along with much hoopla and buzz, but it has failed to reach the revenue needed to help developers make back their investment. It has underperformed and many of the condominiums at the location remain vacant. Ohio is still waiting for a different story though. Ohio officials want people to come in and help build up the state’s economy. Only time will tell what will happen.
Tags: casino, development, employ, jobs, local, Ohio
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Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
News on the growth of gambling is making headlines in US news. One state after another is looking to bring in legalized and regulated gambling as a means of generating huge tax-revenue dollars. Gambling is the only business that can bring in the hundreds of millions of dollars. There are few other options. Legislators know this because they are in difficult positions. They have suffered through the recession of 2008/2009 and are first seeing a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of finances now. It has taken a long time for things to start changing and nascent signs of developing in the right direction.
Ohio is a state that is now rewriting sits gambling regulations. Legislators are excited and hoping that the creation of four different gambling locals within the state will spur new business and a new economy. So far Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo are the four locations in the state that are going to be developed. Each one has a casino operation that is set to be better than the last. It will take time to develop a full-time customer base, but considering that the facilities are scheduled to be top-notch and luxury, most likely they won’t have a problem competing. Pennsylvania is a direct competitor and even officials from that state are worried. They think that with the creation of four new businesses, they may lose a lot of the customers they rely on. It’s even worse news that the four locations are building big budgets for their first year of operations. They have millions into the opening few months and they have created promotions and bonuses to draw even more people in. It’s difficult for any gambler to say no when top-notch casinos come together.
In the end, only time will tell which state—Pennsylvania or Ohio—will come up a winner. Numbers will be run at the end of the year and that is going to be telling of which state is going to come out on top. It will be a fight to the finish however—both states are likely going to rally hard to find and bring in as many customers as they possibly can from neighboring areas.
Tags: casino, Ohio, Pennsylvania
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Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Ohio is in the midst of problems regarding gambling and setting the laws. Many states in the US are having heated debates over how to write laws and change the face of gaming and how it is used by the economy. It was last November that the approval for four new casinos was passed. State officials were excited because of the potential because they saw it as a means of bringing in much needed cash flow. Since the recession began economies everywhere have suffered greatly. It has been a difficult time and state legislators, along with cities, are hoping that gambling is just what they need to turn things around financially. It has worked for other cities and now this one is hoping to capitalize on the change to turn the economy around for the good.
The changes are now without consequence though. In Ohio the biggest casualty is the struggling racing industry. Of all the industries that have taken hits during the recession, racing probably is one of the most hard-hit. People suffered high unemployment rates and quickly cut back on discretionary spending. This included gambling and racetrack wagers. Though gambling I seemingly on the rise, racing has yet to come to any clear turnaround. In fact, the numbers are continuing to decline. This is horrible news for the race track owners who were hoping to see the same turnaround that other industries have seen post-recession. Things don’t seem to be turning out that way now that the industry is settling.
In Ohio racetrack owners are particularly concerned because if the four casinos do open it could take what little business racetracks have now completely away. Also, considering that racetracks were making moves to gain approval to include slots gaming at their locations, now this could hamper that. Even if they do get the approval, there are going to be so many widespread choices for gaming at the four state-of-the-art casinos that visiting a racino will be all but unnecessary. State racetrack owners are holding their breaths in anticipation of what comes next. All too many are worried that the only alternative will be to shut their doors permanently.
Tags: future, Ohio, racetrack, racino
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Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
The state of Ohio is in the midst of serious debates over online gambling. Governor Steve Strickland is leading the legislators of the state to allow racetracks with slots, or racinos, to be established. It’s been a few years now that gambling and racinos in particular have been up for debate. The Governor is well aware of the struggling budget within the state and gambling is set to bring in the necessary funds to overcome. There are few other options in at state’s disposals that would bring in millions of tax-revenue dollars. Though legislators believe legalizing gambling, racinos to be exact, is the most reliable way to bring in money, there are other entities within the state that disagree.
Namely LetOhioVote is an organization that is petitioning for state legislators to allow the voting public to decide on the issue of legalized gambling. They want the issue to be on the November ballot and decided by the people. Organizers of the group firmly asserted that they have no opinion as to whether or not gambling should be legalized or not—that argument is not a part of their agenda. Rather, their only concern is that the people are given the proper information to make an informed decision. They want to be sure that politicians are not painting a more positive picture of the gambling issue in an effort to bring in millions of tax-revenue dollars. There is a repercussion of having gambling facilities and online gambling legalization. Some experts are citing the increase in congestion from traffic if land-based casinos are built and other are noting the increase in gambling addictions to deal with. These are just a few issues to deal with for the state and any other state that brings gambling into its legislature.
LetOhioVote is campaigning hard for the change to be put into the hands of the public. Legislators would have preferred to pass the issue and collect on funds. Now, it is in the hands of the voting public whether or not gambling will be a staple in the finances of the state. Within the next few months the issues should be sorted out because the voting public will have spoken.
Tags: Let Ohio Vote, Ohio, referendum, vote
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