University of Cincinnati Study Projects More Than 34,000 Jobs, $11 Billion in Economic...

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

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

Campaign media, Bob Tenenbaum, +1-614-573-1377,
btenenbaum@themilenthalgroup.com; or Media contact for University of
Cincinnati, Jeff Rexhausen, +1-513-556-3047, Jeff.Rexhausen@uc.edu