Casino backers plan to start petition drive

January 5, 2008 at 2:00a.m.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Developers who want to build a casino in southwest Ohio plan to begin a petition drive on Friday.

MyOhioNow.com needs to collect at least 402,000 signatures in at least 44 of the state’s 88 counties by August to place the issue on the November ballot.

The proposed $600 million resort and casino would sit at state Route 73 and Interstate 71 between Harveysburg and Wilmington.

Casino gambling is illegal in the state. Ohio voters have rejected casino-style gambling three times in the past 20 years.