What were the arguments for/against this other than "I WANT A CASINO HERE"/"NO HERE"?
The major "yes" arguments were a smattering of new jobs and the promise that the millions that Ohioans currently spend on out of state casinos will instead be spent here and then we can collect the taxes from those millions.
The "no" vote consisted of an extremely diverse coalition of people morally opposed to gambling and the "blight" it brings, other gambling interests who fear competition for Ohio dollars, people opposed to creating what amounts to a monopoly in our state constitution, and others opposed to the absolutely abhorrent language of the amendment.
I'm more than willing to bet that Franklin County (and Columbus) voted no for two major reasons. #1. the local paper came out strongly against the amendment #2 unlike the other major cities receiving casinos, Columbus has a really nice thing going on in our Downtown "Arena District" and most people here fear that a casino will ruin the family friendly entertainment atmosphere that's been established. I doubt the casino developer is going to have an easy time of getting their casino built here in Columbus. We're fighting it tooth and nail.
