Kosar urges Valley voters to support casino gambling issue Nov. 3

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Bernie Kosar is urging local voters to support a casino gambling issue on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Kosar, the former Boardman High School football standout and ex-Cleveland Browns quarterback, was in the Mahoning Valley on Wednesday to speak in favor of the gambling issue.

Kosar said the proposal would provide much-needed revenue for governments and schools.

Issue 3 supporters say the casinos would provide about $27 million annually to Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. Opponents strongly disagree with those financial projections.

“What I’m going through financially, I know how tough the economy is,” Kosar said. Kosar is experiencing personal financial problems, filing a bankruptcy petition in June. He was recently hired by the Browns as a consultant.

Kosar said he’s urging passage of Issue 3 because he strongly believes in Dan Gilbert’s business acumen, and this plan would help the state. Kosar said he’s not being paid to speak in favor of the issue.

If voters approve the issue, Gilbert, majority owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, would control casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati. Penn National Gambling would control casinos in Columbus and Toledo.