Suit to block race-track slots puts Austintown plans on hold

Since he has been in office, Re- publican Gov. John Kasich has come to expect opposition to his agenda from Democrats, but now he faces a challenge from a group that would normally be an ally of his: the American Policy Roundtable, a conservative organization.

Last week, APR filed a lawsuit in Franklin County contending that the governor and state lawmakers have exceeded their constitutional authority in permitting video-lottery terminals in the state’s horse-racing tracks and adopting various provisions that affect the four full-service casinos being built in Ohio.

The suit throws a monkey wrench in the plan by Penn National Gaming to locate a harness-racing track at the Centrepointe Development site in Austintown. Penn National, which is building a full-service casino in Toledo and another in Columbus, has announced it would shut down the tracks it owns in Toledo and Columbus. In addition to Austintown, the major casino developer wants to build a race track in Dayton.

In order to ensure that the casinos — one each in Toledo, Columbus and Cincinnati and two in Cleveland — do not adversely affect Ohio’s seven horse-racing tracks, Gov. Kasich, following in the footsteps of his predecessor. Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, and the General Assembly have come up with a way to permit video-lottery slot machines at that tracks. It is this move that has prompted the lawsuit.

Last year, after Ohioans approved a constitutional amendment that opened the door to casino-style gambling in the state, then Gov. Strickland and the General Assembly decided to pursue the slots plan for the race tracks. The governor asked the Ohio Supreme Court to determine whether video-lottery terminals are permitted as an extension of the state lottery, or whether they are banned under the state’s anti-gambling constitutional language. The high court has not issued a ruling.

Now, the American Policy Roundtable, which argues that Ohio voters must decide the race-track issue and the provisions adopted for the casinos, has gone to court.

While we have long opposed an expansion of gambling in the state beyond horse racing, the lottery and bingo, the people have spoken with regard to casinos. And if Penn National wants to invest more than $200 million in this area for the Austintown race track, but needs the slot machines as an incentive, we believe the legislative delegation from the Valley should do all it can to assist the Kasich administration in responding to the lawsuit.

Reality

The expansion of gambling in Ohio is a reality, and if there’s a way for this region to benefit through private investment and the jobs that would be created, we think local officials should do what they can to ensure this area doesn’t lose out.

While the lawsuit is a setback, it does provide an opportunity to Penn National to determine whether there is any advantage in working with the Mahoning Valley Development Group, which has said it wants to develop Mahoning Valley Downs & Resort. MVDG had originally selected a site in Vienna Township near the airport, but now it says it has found a location in Austintown.

Given all the uncertainties created by the lawsuit, it doesn’t hurt for the region to cover all its bases.