University of Cincinnati Study Projects More Than 34,000 Jobs, $11 Billion in Economic Impact Over Five Years From Casino Ballot Issue

09 July 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 34,000 new Ohio jobs and $11 billion in economic impact would be generated during construction and the first five years of operations if the ballot issue authorizing casinos in Ohio's four largest cities is approved by voters in November, a new study from the University of Cincinnati shows.

The report was prepared by UC's Economics Center for Education & Research in the university's College of Business for the Ohio Jobs & Growth Committee, sponsor of the casino proposal.

The report - which includes both direct and indirect employment and economic impact statewide and in the four host cities - also projects:

    --  Creation of nearly 19,000 jobs during the initial investment and        construction phase of the casino development, which would begin in 2010.    --  Nearly 16,000 new permanent jobs once the casinos begin operations,        expected to occur by late 2012.    --  Initial economic impact in the host communities totaling        --  $656 million in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County;        --  $504 million in Columbus and Franklin County;        --  $388 million in Cincinnati and Hamilton County;        --  $302 million in Toledo and Lucas County.

These totals far exceed the $250 million minimum private investment for each casino mandated in the proposed constitutional amendment.

    --  $56 million in earnings, sales and property taxes directly to the state        during the construction phase, then $35 million a year in earnings,        sales and commercial activity tax once the casinos begin operations.    --  Average earnings for casino workers of approximately $33,000 -        consistent, the report said, with both local and industry averages. The        study also noted that "many of the potential positions do not        require advanced skills or experience and are thus accessible to the        approximately 40 percent of working-age Ohioans with no more than a high        school diploma."

"Casino employment provides opportunities to these underserved individuals, potentially giving them a pathway to economic self-sufficiency and reducing their reliance on public assistance," the study's authors concluded.

"The UC study dramatically demonstrates that this is far and away the best proposal for expanded gaming ever presented to Ohio voters," said Charlie Luken, chairman of the Ohio Jobs & Growth Committee. "In the midst of a deep economic slump, we are looking at a proposal that will create tens of thousands of new jobs and pump billions of dollars into our major cities.

"Not only will the proposal provide $651 million a year in tax revenues to be shared among all 88 counties, the eight largest cities and every school district in Ohio," Luken said, "but it will clearly spark economic revitalization in our largest cities."

Summaries of key findings of the UC report for the state and the four host communities are reproduced below:

                State-Level Economic Impacts from Initial Investment and                                    Construction Phase                   Direct Total   Direct Ohio     Indirect and        Total                                                     Induced    Output       $1,717,742,000 $1,137,386,400   $1,518,428,185 $2,655,814,585    Employment                           9,704           13,740        *23,444    Earnings                      $376,244,818     $434,373,565   $810,618,383

*Included in these impacts is the upfront $200 million in required license fees paid to the State of Ohio for local workforce development. These funds are expected to generate more than $351 million in economic output from the state's purchase of training services and create more than 4,700 new jobs.

               State-Level Economic Impacts from First-Year Operations                                 Direct     Indirect and Induced       Total    Output                    $700,020,414       $792,353,107   $1,492,373,521    Employment                       7,500              8,307           15,807    Earnings                  $249,900,000       $284,158,752     $534,058,752    Average Earnings               $33,320            $34,208          $34,220

                         Host Community Initial Economic Impacts        Community                  Output           Jobs         Earnings    Cuyahoga - Cleveland       $656,175,961         4,059     $141,026,556    Franklin - Columbus        $504,474,635         3,393      115,730,261    Hamilton - Cincinnati      $388,144,476         2,134       74,339,597    Lucas - Toledo             $302,388,205         2,127       73,053,541         TOTAL               $1,851,183,277        11,713     $404,149,955

              Host Community Economic Impacts from First-Year Operations         Community                  Output         Jobs          Earnings    Cuyahoga - Cleveland        $409,690,154       4,095      $136,570,407    Franklin - Columbus          337,630,181       3,506       115,933,297    Hamilton - Cincinnati        299,986,626       2,754        91,792,980    Lucas - Toledo               175,213,566       1,831        59,852,676        TOTAL                 $1,222,520,527      12,186      $404,149,360

The Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan is a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that authorizes first-class casinos in 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 each year for all of the state's counties, its major cities and every public school district in the state, with projected annual tax revenues rising 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 the state.

More information on the Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan is available at

www.ohiojobsandgrowth.org.

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

SOURCE Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee