Folks lining up to seek appointment to regulate Ohio casinos

CLEVELAND (AP) — People are lining up to seek appointment to $60,000-a-year jobs regulating Ohio’s new casino industry.

Gov. Ted Strickland must nominate seven people to a commission which will oversee casinos in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.

More than 40 people have asked the governor for appointments, which require Ohio Senate confirmation. Strickland is expected to name his picks in the fall.

The applicants so far include lame-duck Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones in Cleveland and a lobbyist for the Ohio Council of Churches.

State Rep. Todd Book, who co-sponsored the commission legislation, said today that integrity should be a top priority in the appointments.