First off let me say I understand why the casino issue past. In these desperate times Ohio needs jobs and additional taxes, it is an easy sell for Penn Gaming Inc. and Cleveland Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. In the past the unions and popular political figures could be counted on to combat the media onslaught from the casino lobby. This time no one could be perceived as being against new jobs. I worry what is going to happen to the districts where these casinos are built.
Consider Columbus, Mayor Coleman did not support it, Franklin County voters did not support it, yet some out of town billionaires will get to decide where the casino will be located, what it will look like, how it will operate and all of the other details.
Casinos traditionally are bad for surrounding local businesses as they are very self contained. Casino owners know their market and have all of the information at hand to squeeze the most out of their structures. The idea with a casino is to provide everything on site so people will not be tempted to drink, shop, eat, or sleep anywhere else. All of the dynamic and diverse businesses that make a district unique will be replaced by one stop entertainment shop. This is basically like writing into the state constitution that Wal-Mart gets to build three new stores in each of the state’s top retail districts with no oversight. The small business owners always seem to get the shaft.
As Ohioans we think that bigger is always better but small business owners have and always will be the backbone of our economy. According to the Federal Government small businesses employ more people than large businesses, they create more new jobs, they are also more innovative and they create a greater sense of place and community. Yet once again we send our money to those that need it the least.
Consider this study from The Economic Impact of Gaming in Missouri, by Charles Leven and Don Phares, “the consensus of existing national and state-wide research is that legalizing opportunities for casino gambling increases the prevalence of severe problem gamblers by at least 0.45 percent and possibly as high as 1.8 percent. Based on recent empirical studies of problem gambling, each problem casino gambler adds approximately $10,113 in yearly costs to a state’s economy.” So somewhere around 1% of gamblers at the new casinos are going to cost the state more than $10,000 a year. $10,000 a year in taxpayer money.
I am all for capitalism yet we seem to privatize profit and socialize costs. My hope is that these important downtown districts are not torn apart by these stand alone big box entertainment stores, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
