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Penn National funding the fight against VLTs, affidavit says
Penn National Gaming, owner of the former Argosy casino in southern Indiana and the Toledo Raceway, is bankrolling a lawsuit and campaign to stop Ohio racetracks from becoming ‘racinos’ with slot machines, an affidavit filed Tuesday, Sept. 1, says.
The state Attorney General’s office filed the affidavit in the LetOhioVote case, which is scheduled to be argued Wednesday, Sept. 2, before the Ohio Supreme Court.
State Sen. Bill Seitz swore that former lawmaker Tom Brinkman told him in late July that Penn National was funding the LetOhioVote litigation and any referendum campaign that might follow. Brinkman is on the LetOhioVote side of the litigation.
Officials from Penn National could not be immediately reached for comment.
Penn National and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert are pushing a ballot issue that asks voters to amend the state constitution to allow four full-blown casinos, one each in Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
Separately, Gov. Ted Strickland and the Legislature decided to add 17,500 slot machines to Ohio’s seven racetracks to help bring in $933 million in revenue to the state budget over the next two years. The Legislature specifically said that the VLT plan was not subject to a referendum — a provision that is now subject to the lawsuit.
Racinos would compete with Penn National and Gilbert’s casinos for gambling business.
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