Official State Report Affirms Estimated Tax Revenues for Proposed Ohio Casinos

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A report by the Ohio
Department of Taxation and the state's Office of Budget and Management affirms
the revenue and tax estimates that supporters of State Issue 3 have been using
in their campaign to convince Ohioans to approve full-scale casinos in the
state's four largest cities, the chairman of the pro-Issue 3 campaign said
today.

"This report from the State of Ohio affirms the facts and information our
campaign has been communicating to the citizens of Ohio," said Charlie Luken,
chairman of the Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee.

Luken said the report of the two state agencies, which are required to provide
the Secretary of State with a fiscal analysis whenever a constitutional
amendment is placed on the ballot, "should make Ohio voters feel confident
that our campaign is being conducted openly and honestly."

Highlights of the report:

-- ESTIMATED TAX REVENUES: Tax revenue from the casinos would total $643
million a year - a difference of slightly more than 2 percent from the
campaign's own estimates.
-- OHIO MONEY WILL STAY IN OHIO: The report said that a central premise
of
the revenue estimate "is that a large share of gaming currently
undertaken by Ohioans in other states would be 'recaptured' into Ohio
by
the four proposed casinos."
-- NO DELAY IN CONSTRUCTION: The report assumes all four casinos "will be
built with minimal delay. . ."
-- ALL WAGERS SUBJECT TO TAXATION: Required implementing legislation
"would
define the tax base in such a way that cash wagering, to the extent it
would occur, would be subject to taxation and that no challenges to
the
implementing legislation would be successful."
-- COMPARISON OF TAX RATES: The proposed 33 per cent tax on gross casino
revenue compares with a 19 percent tax rate in Michigan and a rate
that
ranges from 15-35 percent in Indiana - the two neighboring states that
permit full casino gaming.

-- ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR CASINO CONTROL COMMISSION: The cost of staffing
and
operating the Casino Control Commission created by Issue 3 are
estimated
at $14 million per year once the casinos are operational --
significantly lower than the 19 million a year allocated by the
amendment for staffing and other operational costs.

"This is clearly the most objective study undertaken on the tax and fiscal
impacts of Issue 3," Luken said, "since it was conducted by state government
rather than by either side of the Issue 3 debate."

State Issue 3 - 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, with the
vast majority of the funds designated 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 Ohio.

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

SOURCE Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee

Bob Tenenbaum, +1-614-573-1377, btenenbaum@themilenthalgroup.com