CLEVELAND, Oct. 7/PRNewswire/ --Cleveland City Council voted overwhelmingly Monday to urge a "yes" vote on State Issue 3, citing the creation of 19,000 construction jobs and 15,000 permanent jobs in light of Ohio's economic woes and high unemployment rate. Passage of Issue 3 will authorize one casino in Cleveland and one casino each in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Toledo.

By a vote of 17-2, City Council passed emergency Resolution 1456-09 that states Issue 3 "will produce $651 million in tax revenue every year, with the vast majority of the funds going to local governments and every school district in the state... studies confirm that the casinos will bring a mandated $1 billion in new economic development."

Last month, City Council members met with representatives of the Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan - the committee sponsoring the "Yes on Issue 3" campaign - including Cleveland Cavaliers President Len Komoroski, for a presentation on the proposed casino that will be built near Public Square and Gateway, adjacent to Quicken Loans Arena on the Cuyahoga River.

Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson earlier endorsed Issue 3, also citing the economic benefits to the city of a downtown casino which will attract eight million visitors each year. The Greater Cleveland Partnership and Positively Cleveland! also endorsed Issue 3, agreeing it would bring a needed boost to the city's economy, and to Ohio's economy.

"Cleveland City Council's resolution is another affirmation by the leadership of Cleveland that a casino will bring thousands of jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in development and new tax revenue for Northeast Ohio," said Dan Gilbert, majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, whose partnership, Rock Ventures, will build the Cleveland casino.

In endorsing Issue 3, Cleveland City Council joins a growing list of elected officials and organizations supporting the ballot issue, including (partial list):

    --  Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson    --  Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory    --  Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner    --  The Ohio AFL-CIO    --  United Auto Workers (UAW) of Ohio    --  Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council    --  Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio    --  Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association    --  Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association    --  Toledo Police Patrolmen's Association    --  Greater Cleveland Partnership    --  Positively Cleveland!    --  Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce

The Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan - State Issue 3 - is a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that authorizes one first-class casino in each of the state's four largest cities (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo). The plan would generate $11 billion in economic impact during construction and the first five years of casino operations. It would create 34,000 new jobs for Ohioans, and would provide an estimated $651 million in tax revenues, with the vast majority of the money designated for all of the state's counties, its major cities and every public school district in the state. Annual tax revenues are expected to rise to $772 million by 2017.

Primary backers of the proposal are:

    --  Penn National Gaming, Inc., a prominent operator of gaming facilities        and horse racing tracks, including Raceway Park in Toledo; and    --  Dan Gilbert, through his Rock Ventures partnership. Gilbert is majority        owner of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers and operator of Quicken Loans Arena        in downtown Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic Courts, the Lake Erie Monsters,        Veritix and Fathead, as well as Chairman and Founder of Quicken Loans,        which operates a 350-person Internet web center in downtown Cleveland.        Gilbert, who began investing in Ohio in 2005, employs more than 2,500        people throughout Ohio.

Pd. for by Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee, Bill Curlis, Treasurer, 865 Macon Alley, Columbus OH 43206

SOURCE Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan