Ironically, it could come down to the man who killed the idea two years ago, Governor Ted Strickland
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Pressure is mounting for the governor to test his power, saying he could and should order the Ohio Lottery to install slots at tracks and give them a chance to get established before the state’s four sanctioned casinos begin to operate in 2012.
The Ohio Supreme Court, when it ruled on the legal challenge to the governor’s plan this year, did not rule on the question of whether he had the authority to add slots to the tracks. One prominent state senator, Republican Bill Seitz of Cincinnati, favours the idea.
When the casinos do get operating, 3% of an expected $650 million a year is earmarked for racing relief, but some observers say that money will be too little and come too late.
Tom Zaino, a member of the Ohio Racing Commission, is predicting that five of the state’s seven tracks will close within a few years without slots.
An opposing view came from C. David Paragas, an attorney for the tracks’ Ohio Legacy Fund, who says five will survive and two will not.
Terry Casey, a Republican political strategist, says, “I’m not sure how it’ll all happen, but one way or the other there’s going to be some consolidation,” he told the Louisville Courier-Journal.
(HTA)