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Clinton County is trying to get a Casino...is it a good idea?

Ohio Construction Trades Council Backs Proposed Casino in Clinton County

Dayton Daily News
By Lawrence Budd
Staff Writer

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

COLUMBUS — The Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council is backing efforts to build a casino resort in Clinton County.

"To the building trades, casinos mean jobs. That's what were interested in," said Thomas Anderson, an executive board member of the trades council from Warren County.

The trade council's unanimous vote in April was announced Tuesday by MyOhioNow.Com, a Cleveland-based group promoting the casino.

MyOhioNow.com is managing a statewide petition drive to put the issue on ballots in November.

"The Building Trades will work hard for passage of the My Ohio Now casino to fight for these jobs and fight for Ohio's economic survival," said Chuck Morton of the Dayton Building Trades Council.

"Ohioans need jobs at good wages and good benefits. The My Ohio Now casino and resort are a giant leap in the direction of securing our economic future," he said.

My Ohio Now Casino Project Picks Up Labor Support

Dayton Business Journal
COLUMBUS, Ohio
May 27 PRNewswire

The Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council has formally voted to back the My Ohio Now Resort and Casino Initiative which will be on the statewide ballot this Fall. My Ohio Now is currently collecting signatures for the Fall ballot, and the campaign has been in full gear for months with grassroots activities, statewide television and radio advertising, and strong organization building.

"Working men and women will benefit from the My Ohio Now Casino Project in many ways," said Charles Morton , head of the Dayton Building Trades Council, and OSBCT point man for the My Ohio Now Project. "Not only do we encourage working people to vote for the initiative, we are excited to be a major partner to bring 5,000 good paying permanent jobs to Ohio that pay health care and other benefits."

My Ohio Now is a partnership between North East Ohio entrepreneurs Mr. Rick A. Lertzman , Dr. Bradford Pressman , and Lakes Entertainment of Minnetonka, MN. "We are honored to stand with the working men and women of Ohio to create great jobs in construction as well as permanent jobs at the resort casino. This state desperately needs investment and jobs, and a $600 million investment in Ohio's economy with 5,000 permanent and thousands of construction jobs is just what the Doctor ordered for Ohio's ailing economy," commented Dr. Pressman.

"The Building Trades know the great positive economic impact The My Ohio Now Casino would have throughout the state and are standing up for working Ohioans who will benefit so greatly with this huge economic development project," Stated Lertzman. "Ohio needs help, and Ohioans can vote for a better and more prosperous future this November. We applaud The Building Trades for recognizing how important this is for Ohio's future," Lertzman continued.

My Ohio Now has pledged to pump $600 million into a destination resort casino in Clinton County with the support of Ohio's voters. The casino proceeds would re-invest over $214 million annually into county government priorities that will work to alleviate the stress on property and sales taxes in the state. This unique plan will also create thousands of prevailing wage construction jobs over the course of the construction phase of the project that will be reinvested in the state's economy.

"The Building Trades will work hard for passage of the My Ohio Now Casino to fight for these jobs and fight for Ohio's economic survival," stated Morton. "Ohioans need jobs at good wages and good benefits. The My Ohio Now Casino and Resort are a giant leap in the direction of securing our economic future."

New casino boosts tourism in Michigan's southwestern corner

from: ChicagoTribune.com
By JAMES PRICHARD
Associated Press Writer
12:02 AM CDT, May 27, 2008
NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Mich.

Southwestern Michigan's first casino is transforming an area long known as a pit stop for out-of-state tourists into a vacation destination in its own right.

While many Chicagoans have long enjoyed holiday weekends and summertime vacations in or near the quaint harbor town of New Buffalo, other Michigan-bound leisure travelers may be less familiar with the region. But with last summer's opening of the Four Winds Casino Resort, the enormous and luxurious gambling complex just off Interstate 94 near Lake Michigan and the Indiana border, the secret is out.

"It gives people more options at the gateway of Michigan to enjoy themselves even more when they come to the New Buffalo area," said Jerry Welsh, owner of Garden Grove Bed and Breakfast in nearby Union Pier.

Besides the casino, visitors to Harbor Country can stroll on beaches, shop at antique stores, wander through art galleries, tour wineries and discover hidden gems of restaurants. The region includes a 10-mile stretch of Lake Michigan communities from New Buffalo to Sawyer, plus the inland village of Three Oaks

The early success of Four Winds appears to be having a ripple effect on the region's tourism economy, said Pam Sudlow, who was executive director of the Harbor Country Chamber of Commerce until late April, when she left to start her own business.

Local hotels, inns and B&Bs are filling more rooms. Several new restaurants and retail stores recently opened or soon will open near the casino. Plans are being made for a 24-hour daycare center to serve casino employees.

The chamber has gotten calls from bus-tour companies and small groups planning casino trips that want to find out more about other local activities, she said.

"Four Winds is part of their visit and that's what drew them to the area, but they've wanted to stay in a bed and breakfast and do other things," Sudlow said. "Our lodging properties have been benefiting because the casino is very short of rooms."

The 3,000-slot casino, in Berrien County's New Buffalo Township, has 165 hotel rooms and suites starting at $299 per night. That's compared with the $114 basic room rate at the Blue Chip Casino Hotel in nearby Michigan City, Ind., and the $129 rate at the Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, about a three-hour drive up the coast of Lake Michigan.

Four Winds also has six restaurants and 3,400 parking spaces, said John Miller, tribal chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, the Dowagiac-based tribe that owns the casino.

Business has been so strong that an expansion already is in the works that probably will add more lodging, restaurants and parking spaces.

"Right now, we're in discussions with our tribal government and our managing partner (Minneapolis-based Lakes Entertainment Inc.), and we're deciding exactly what we want to do in the next phase," Miller said.

While the casino is the first in southwestern Michigan, it is not without competition, with Blue Chip only about 10 miles away. Still, during Welsh's eight years as owner of Garden Grove, he doesn't recall many of his lodgers expressing an interest in going to the Michigan City casino.

On the other hand, an increasing number in recent months have mentioned plans to visit Four Winds, he said.

"It's something else to do on a rainy day for our clientele," Welsh said. "They're here mostly just to decompress from corporate America."

Angie Siewert, owner of the Sans-Souci Euro Inn, about three miles east of New Buffalo, called the casino "an added amenity" for her guests. But she cautioned it's too soon to know how much of a long-term effect Four Winds will have on the local tourism economy, particularly with $4-per-gallon gasoline.

"The market is still tough at the moment," she said. "I see what's happening at many inns, I talk to other innkeepers, and people are just not traveling as they used to, which is probably understandable."

Another travel option is on the horizon. Amtrak recently reached an agreement with the city of New Buffalo to build a passenger station beside the railroad's high-speed line at the lakefront. Starting sometime this summer, riders will be offered four daily nonstop hourlong trips to and from downtown Chicago. Both commuters and tourists are expected to take advantage of the rides.

Starlight Tours and Travel in Battle Creek has offered weekly bus tours to Four Winds since it opened Aug. 2, said owner Denise Kendall. Between 30 and 40 people, mostly seniors, board the company's buses each Thursday to take the day trips.

"They like the food," she said. "There's a lot of penny (slot) machines, a lot of nickel machines, and it's brand new and beautiful. All the new casinos are beautiful like that. People like to check them out."

Four Winds is nestled at the end of a scenic, mile-long driveway that meanders through a forest, and it's easy to quickly forget that it sits near a busy interstate highway. The casino portion of the complex resembles a huge, upscale lodge.

A rotunda just inside the main entrance features two giant fireplaces and the beginnings of a large, circular mural being painted by a Pokagon artist. To one side of the main promenade are several retail shops and specialty boutiques, to the other is the gaming floor itself.

The darkly lit, arena-sized chamber is filled with the ringing sounds of slot machines but with a lot less neon than in typical Las Vegas casinos. There are 100 gaming tables for playing poker, blackjack, baccarat, roulette and craps.

The restaurants are scattered throughout the casino and offer everything from buffet-style fare to fine dining, from sandwiches to sushi to 28-day dry-aged steaks.

A gambling area set aside for high rollers features hundred-dollar slots and a luxuriously appointed room for the highest of the high, complete with a private entrance and drop-off area for their limos.

"When people are here, they feel very, very special," casino manager Matt Harkness said.

Casino plan has a cut for counties
Ballot proposal dangles $211 million

Monday, May 26, 2008
Michael Sangiacomo
Plain Dealer Reporter

Lyle Berman is a betting man. He bolstered his casino empire with $1.5 million he won in a high-stakes poker game.

Now he's wagering that the people of Ohio are ready for their first casino. And he's sweetened the pot by offering to make all 88 of the state's counties winners: an annual split of the earnings, about $211 million, to be divided up based on county population.

Berman's Lakes Entertainment from Minnetonka, Minn., has partnered with MyOhioNow.com in Beachwood to ask voters to approve a referendum to change the Ohio Constitution and allow a $600 million casino and resort between Columbus and Cincinnati.

Is it enough to persuade Ohio voters to approve casino gambling, a proposal that has been voted down three times since 1990?

National experts say no, but Berman says he has learned from the mistakes made by the other attempts to bring casinos to Ohio. He said the big mistakes were making the proposals too large or too complicated.

Berman's proposal is for one casino in Clinton County in rural southern Ohio, a place that needs the projected 5,000 jobs - with an average salary of $38,000, counting benefits - that it would create. The lowest-paid job would be $15 an hour.

Berman, who built his family leather shop into a booming leather-goods business, said he's not trying to win over politicians. He's concentrating on voters by using celebrities like Jamie Farr, Suzanne Somers, Dwayne Hickman and Vicki Lawrence to pitch the referendum.

Rick Lertzman and his MyOhioNow.com group are the minority partner in the casino venture. He can't see why Northeast Ohio voters would vote against it. "People from Cleveland go to Detroit and Windsor every day, about three hours away," Lertzman said. "So what's the difference if they drive west or south?"

Timothy Cope, president of Lakes Entertainment Co., explained the tax breakdown for the casino.

Tax breakdown for the deal using the three Ohio River riverboat casinos in Indiana - the Argosy, the Grand Victorian and Belterra - for comparison, Cope projected that the Clinton County casino would gross $800 million a year from gambling.

Of that, 30 percent, or about $240 million, would be shared. Clinton County would receive 10 percent, 1 percent would go to the state for administrative costs and 1 percent would go toward treatment programs for problem gamblers. The remainder, about $211 million, would be divided among the state's 88 counties -including Clinton County - based on population.

"A person loses $100 at the casino, he can be assured that $30 of that goes right back to the state in some way," said Cope.

I. Nelson Rose, a law professor at Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, Calif., said the percentages being proposed are similar to a deal in Connecticut in which American Indian tribes opened a casino in exchange for 25 percent of the proceeds. The remainder went to local governments.

Ernest Yelton, Indiana Gaming Commission executive director, confirmed that the three Ohio River casinos generated $851 million in "gaming wins" in 2007. Combined, the three casinos gave $257 million in taxes to the state last year.

Indiana has a graduated tax based on the amount of money a casino makes in winnings. It begins at 15 percent for a casino with gaming wins of up to $25 million and goes up to 40 percent for a casino making $600 million in a year - a figure no casino has ever reached in Indiana.

Yelton admitted being a little concerned about Ohio's plans, since many of Indiana's customers come from the Buckeye side of the Ohio River. Lertzman said up to 75 percent of the customers come from Ohio.

"Many of the casinos, especially the Argosy [on the Ohio River near Cincinnati] are making significant improvements," Yelton said.

Lertzman said the as-yet-unnamed casino would draw from the 6 million people living within a 100-mile radius of Clinton County.

The new casino would include 220,000 square feet of gaming with 5,000 slot machines, 100 table games like roulette and blackjack and a 20-table poker room.

Cope said the new casino would also feature a "championship" golf course; a 1,500-room hotel; a 40,000- to 60,000-square-foot conference center; a 2,500-seat theater for live entertainment; and eight "world class" restaurants.

Berman's Lakes Entertainment opened the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Mich., in August 2007 with the Pokagon band of Potawatomi Indians. In June 2007, Lakes Entertainment began construction of a casino near Sacramento, Calif., for the Shingle Springs band of the Miwok Indians.

Would Indiana riverboats fold?

Does this mean that the only way the Clinton County casino can survive is to wipe out the Indiana competition?

"No, we won't have to steal all the customers, though we will take a lot from there," said Lertzman. "I think the riverboats will survive, but it will hurt them."

He noted that when new casinos opened in places like the Chicago area, existing casinos in nearby Indiana cities of Hammond, Gary and East Chicago continued to thrive.

Rose said that if the Clinton County casino opens, it has a good chance of being successful.

"The riverboat casinos will lose market share, but it will come back. Look at Atlantic City," said Professor Bill Eadington of the University of Nevada Reno's Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming.

Also, Eadington said, there are real advantages to land-based casinos. Kansas City authorized a land casino that will compete with nearby riverboats.

"You can have a more user-friendly facility," he said.

Rose agreed.

"There is a lot of room for growth down there," he said. "Sometimes you need a certain number of casinos for synergy, like Las Vegas."

Referendum faces long odds

But both experts agree it may be a moot point because they think the referendum will fail.

"I can tell you already it will not pass," Rose said. "One-third of the public is dead set against gambling, period, for religious or other reasons. Another one-third is mildly against gambling, and the remaining third just does not care. There is no significant group of people who favor gambling. Because of that, the measure will fail."

The Ohio Roundtable of Strongsville opposes the casino, as it has every other casino proposal. President Dave Zanotti noted the referendum says that if another casino opens in Ohio, the Clinton County casino would only have to give up a split with the counties equal to what the new casino pays. That could be another American Indian casino that pays only 2 percent, Zanotti said.

"You see what could happen?" he said. "Counties that planned on that income would not get it."

Lertzman said that there are "absolutely no plans" to open a second casino in Ohio and that opening an American Indian casino in the state would be almost impossible.

Zanotti said the new casino owners expect a lot of people in Ohio to become big gamblers.

The Ohio Roundtable comes under the nonprofit American Policy Roundtable, whose mission statement lays out a goal to "restore traditional Judeo-Christian principles to American public policy."

"The 'antis' are already out there," Berman said. "They'll say what they always say, that it will mean an increase in drugs, prostitution and crime and that it will hurt local restaurants. But, as we say in Minnesota, 'That dog don't hunt.' "

A Sacramento firm has been hired to gather the 402,275 signatures necessary to put the referendum on the November ballot, and it anticipates no problems.

Ohio is surrounded by casinos, including Mountaineer Park in West Virginia; Presque Isle Downs Casino in Erie, Pa.; multiple casinos in Detroit and throughout Michigan; Casino Windsor in Windsor, Ontario; Seneca Casino in Buffalo, N.Y.; and others.

Lertzman said casinos - any building with slot machines - are "legal in 38 states and there are efforts pending in five others. That means Ohio will be one of the seven states in the country that does not offer gambling."

Officials in Northeast Ohio divided on county proposal

Even with more than 50 million no-strings-attached bucks on the table, little more than half of Northeast Ohio's county officials favor the proposed casino in southern Ohio.

It's almost even money. A dead heat, in gambler-speak.

An informal poll of commissioners from Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Geauga and Portage counties, and the 11 Summit County Council members, reveals that nine said yes to the idea and eight would either vote against the measure or want more information.

In almost all the undecided cases, the commissioners were skeptical about ever seeing the money. Many suggested that if there were guarantees in place, they could be persuaded.

The promoters of the casino referendum are not bothered by the noncommittal support, noting that an advertising blitz for the proposal is being directed at voters, since they will make the decision.

To garner statewide support for the referendum that will be on the November ballot, the promoters of the as-yet-unnamed casino in Clinton County project that about $240 million a year would be distributed to Clinton County, the state and divided up among the state's 88 counties.

One of the most vocal supporters is Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, whose county would get the most money in the state. In fact, he would like to see the casino door open wider.

"I think at some point we need a beachhead to stem the outmigration of gambling dollars to other states," Jones said.

The commissioner said his county would receive $26 million a year, which could shore up the health and human services safety net.

"If the referendum passes, it would only be a matter of time before we could further amend the Ohio Constitution to open up a casino in Northeast Ohio," he said.

Fellow Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan also favors the proposal. Jimmy Dimora could not be reached for comment.

Geauga County Commissioner Mary E. Samide called the plan it regionalism at its best.

"As long as the local communities where the casino will be located want it, we have no problem with it," she said. "It would be wonderful to share in the cash flow."

Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy joked, "We've already spent the money."

Troy recognizes that $4.2 million a year is a best-case scenario, but he believes Lake County would get something out of it.

"We won't see any adverse effects from it and we're going to get money from it? Great, let's go for it," he said.

Lake County Commissioner Robert Aufuldish also favors the proposal.

"I see all the senior citizens from Lake County board buses and go to gamble in Detroit, Pennsylvania and New York," he said. "I would like to see the money stay in Ohio."

But fellow Lake County Commissioner Raymond Sines opposes the casino.

"My guess is that this issue fails big-time," he said. "If we're going to do it, do it right and include more than just one casino."

Geauga County Commissioner Craig S. Albert said he would be for it even if the county were not being promised $1.6 million a year.

"It's a phenomenal idea," he said. "I would much rather have casinos than a lottery. At least some casino games involve skill. The lottery is pure luck."

But more county officials were more cautious and wouldn't show their hand.

Summit County Councilman Pete Crossland said that the money is tempting but that ultimately the council wants more information. With an $8 million deficit expected this year, "that $10 million would go a long way," he said.

But in the long run, Crossland said, he didn't think it would work out.

"I'm never comfortable that these things would be a great benefit in the end, more of a Band-Aid solution," he said.

He noted that he is one of 11 council members and couldn't speak for the others.

Lorain County Commissioners Betty Blair and Ted Kalo have not decided about sanctioning one casino, though both want gambling in Ohio and Lorain County in particular. But they both want to examine the proposal more thoroughly.

Fellow Commissioner Lori Kokoski is "absolutely in favor of keeping that gambling money in Ohio" and supports the proposal.

In Portage County, two commissioners said yes and one said no.

All three Medina County commissioners said they would take a wait-and-see attitude about the project, even though the idea of an extra $2.8 million a year is tempting.

"I'm not taking a position," said Medina County Commissioner Stephen D. Hambley. "I've seen the commercials - they've even got Dwayne Hickman doing ads - but I need convincing."

Casino partners go on media blitz

The newly announced partner in a campaign to build a casino in Clinton County fielded questions Thursday as the casino developers began a two-day circuit of the state's major population and media centers.

The first stop was at Kenwood Towers in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati where Lakes Entertainment CEO Lyle Berman was introduced and drew the most questions from reporters.

The focus of a News Journal interview with Berman after the news conference was the livelihood aspect of the proposed casino business in Chester Township. The proponents' $34,000 average wage figure is based upon the wages workers receive at three southern Indiana casinos, said Berman. He believes wages here would be similar because of similar dynamics to the southern Indiana region.

The up to 5,000 jobs the casino developers say will be generated at the casino resort include employees at proposed restaurants, a large hotel and other ancillary businesses that are part of the proposed casino destination site.

Lake Entertainment's existing casinos have almost as many workers in the restaurant ventures as in the casino industry, Berman said, noting the restaurant business is very labor intensive. A hotel also employs a lot of people, he added.

In prepared remarks read during the news conference, Berman said of the thousands of projected jobs, “Ohio can certainly use those jobs.”

The casino developer said this casino project is “a great opportunity” both for Ohio and for his company Lakes Entertainment. The state and its 88 counties stand to gain jobs and tax revenues, he said, while his company hopes to help create a “first-class casino resort for Ohio” and make a profit.

A nationwide economic downturn can impact a casino operation, said Berman, but a sour economy is not enough to derail the project.

“A casino is definitely not recession-proof. But I think that with one casino in this area with the intense [density] population that we have, we have no concerns about financial success of the operation,” the CEO said.

Those hired could look forward to steady employment at the casino, according to Berman.

He expects the customer pattern to be “very similar” to the northern Indiana gaming market which encompasses the Lakes Entertainment-managed Four Winds casino in western Michigan.

The casino industry numbers there are pretty level quarter to quarter, Berman said, “which is also great for associates because we don't have to flex up and down, lay off people, bring more people on. When we hire you for 40 hours, you're going to get 40 hours.”

“Typically, you have between Thanksgiving and Christmas a little bit of a lull,” he added.

Not all newly hired casino employees work out, of course.

“There is a fair amount of early turnover. You hire a great deal of people — some people don't like it, some people we don't like,” he said with a smile. “But over time, there is no more turnover than you would find in any typical similar business.”

There probably is less turnover at casino resort restaurants than there is at a typical restaurant, Berman suggested. “Because we have so much activity, our tipping jobs are very coveted jobs.”

Minnesota-based Lakes Entertainment would be the majority owner and sole operator of the proposed casino at Interstate 71 and state Route 73 in northwest Clinton County.

According to Berman, Lakes Entertainment's philosophy of employee relations is, “Just be fair and equitable, I guess is the best one. The best thing I can say is whenever we open a new casino, we have hundreds of people who have worked for us in other environments, call us up and say, ‘Is there some place for me here?'”

In his mind, being a good corporate citizen includes playing by all the rules and regulations a casino venture operates under.

“I think as a corporate citizen, it means voluntarily contributing to worthy causes. I think it means contributing to people who have a problem with gambling, and some do, we're not afraid to admit that,” said Berman.

According to the terms of the casino ballot referendum, a designated amount of the casino business will go toward programs that address problem gambling, Berman said, adding, “We may contribute over and above that.”

“Certainly we have very good associates benefits and programs which also makes us a good corporate citizen,” the business executive said.

He said Lakes Entertainment makes donations to local organizations.

Phase 1 of the casino resort project will cost at least $600 million, said Berman.

Most of that money will be raised on Wall Street on what are called high-yield bonds, he explained.

Berman anticipates some organized opposition to the casino proposal prior to Election Day this November. He said the majority of the money that funds anti-casino campaigns comes from other people in the gaming industry who don't want the competition.

The casino in Clinton County would have “gaming and entertainment for the whole family,” Berman said.

“This will be an unparalleled entertainment experience for Ohio and the Midwest. We feel confident that Ohioans, when they learn all of the details and benefits of our proposal, will enthusiastically support this project,” said Berman.

Joining journalists at the Kenwood Towers event were Alma and Roger Plummer, who own the Chester Township land where the casino would be located if approved by Ohio voters. The Plummers also attended the Columbus news conference later Thursday.

There were about twice as many media representatives at the Columbus event, she said, adding she thought more questions were asked at Columbus, too.

Gambling a big deal for economy with 267,000 jobs, $15.3B revenue: industry

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Canada's largest and most financially significant entertainment industry is gambling, accounting for 267,000 full-time jobs and contributing $15.3 billion a year to the economy, according to the Canadian Gaming Association.

The industry group's report released Tuesday and based on 2006 data says 57 per cent of gambling revenue - $8.7 billion - supported government services and charities.

The other $6.6 billion "was spent to sustain operations, paid out as salaries, and used to purchase goods and services."

The gaming association's research, described as the most comprehensive study ever conducted on the economic impact of gaming in Canada, found 135,000 people are directly employed in the industry, and indirect gambling-related employment such as food and entertainment services swells the total to 267,000 full-time jobs. For 2006, this translated into $11.6 billion in labour income, the association says.

"Gaming has grown significantly over the past decade to become an essential pillar of the entertainment industry in Canada," stated association president Bill Rutsey.

"It is now demonstrably clear how the majority of spending in the industry goes directly back to Canadians in the form of paycheques, construction in communities, and revenues for the programs and services and charities that we value."

Jamie Farr, other TV stars urge voter support for casino resort

By Associated Press

POSTED: 10:22 a.m. EDT, Mar 31, 2008

CLEVELAND: An ad campaign featuring Jamie Farr, Vicki Lawrence and other TV stars is urging voters to support an initiative to allow a privately owned casino in southwestern Ohio.

The radio and television ads began today. They're sponsored by developers who are planning a $600 million casino between Cincinnati and Columbus that they say would create 5,000 jobs.

The latest initiative has yet to qualify for the November ballot.

Lawrence played Mama on the ''Carol Burnett Show'' and on ''Mama's Family.'' Farr, a Toledo native, played Corporal Klinger on the television series ''M.A.S.H.''

Plan OKd for New Castle-area racino

Published:Thursday, March 27, 2008

By Jeanne Starmack

A date for groundbreaking is still up in the air.

NEW CASTLE — The Mahoning Township Planning Commission unanimously approved a plan for a complex that includes a mile-long harness racing track and a 273,000-square-foot building with a casino.

The plan now moves to the township supervisors. They have the final vote on whether the township will accept the plan for Valley View Downs, submitted by developer Centaur Gaming Inc. of Indianapolis. Supervisors will meet April 8.

The planning commission, a recommending body only, approved the plan on 11 conditions at its meeting Wednesday.

Those conditions, outlined by Ron Rizzo of R.A.R., the township's engineering firm, deal mostly with acquiring permits.

The township is responsible for one of the conditions — getting approval for a new sewage treatment plant in Edinburgh, Rizzo said. That plant will serve the racing complex and Mahoning Township, he added.

Centaur also must get a highway occupancy permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation before it opens, he said.

Other permits include wetlands remediation and sewer discharge permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Lawrence County Conservation District.

The developer has to submit building elevation specifications and identify utility easements.

A question about the lighting from the complex possibly bothering neighbors also is addressed, said Steve Henkelman, a project architect with the firm Cope Linder.

He said lighting in parking lots and around the horse barns will be shielded. He said pole-mounted lights at the track will shine downward and will only be on during races.

Aside from the conditions, Rizzo said, “We're satisfied with the submission.”

Rick Kelly, public relations spokesman for Centaur, said even though the approval process on the local level is winding down, the developer will not break ground until it gets its gaming license from the state. He said Centaur does not know when that will happen. The developer obtained its racing license Sept. 5.

Valley View Downs will be on 250 acres at U.S. Route 422 between Baird Road and Pa. Route 551.

Henkelman described the building as “six acres under roof,” but he and fellow architect Ellen Levin said the design reduces the building's scale. “It doesn't look like a big box,” Henkelman said.

The building has two entrances — one near the parking area on the south side of the complex that will have an undercover drop-off area, and one to the southwest that leads directly into the casino, he said.

Track side viewing is available through three staggered glass walls the architects call pavilions. The building will have dining areas and a sports club that will draw patrons even when there are no races going on, he said.

He said the township will have the only “racino” of the complex's kind in the country.

Levin said that because the complex is so large, architects tried to give it a softer, more inviting ambiance with lighting. They tried to break down the building and organize it into smaller areas, she said.

“There's no particular style,” Henkelman said. “It's somewhat of a contemporary lodge.”

Henkelman said the complex is laid out to allow for expansions. He said a hotel, more restaurants, more meeting space, more retail space and a spa are envisioned for the future. Three parking garages would be built, and the gaming floor would be expanded, he said.

The complex is expected to produce $15 million a year in revenues for Lawrence County.

It is expected to create 1,500 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent full- and part-time jobs.

starmack@vindy.com

Link to a Story on MyFoxCleveland.com

http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pages/Business/Detail?contentId=6162108&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=4.1.1

Link to a Poll on www.twiigs.com

Created on March 27, 2008 by plain_dealer

Ends April 26, 2008

• Didn't want it before, don't want it now.
  15%
• I used to be in favor, but it's too late now for casinos to help.
  1%
• I haven't been able to decide.
  1%
• I didn't like the idea, but we might as well join the crowd.
  8%
• I've always favored gambling. Let's do it.
  73%

Total Votes: 319