Casino Developers Pledge 90 Percent Local Jobs, Workforce That Reflects Community Diversity

Casino Developers Pledge 90 Percent Local Jobs, Workforce That Reflects
Community Diversity

CLEVELAND, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Developers of the four casinos
that would be authorized by passage of State Issue 3 pledged today that at
least 90 percent of all jobs in the casinos will go to residents of the cities
and their surrounding metropolitan areas, and that the casinos' workforces
would reflect the diversity of the communities.

Dan Gilbert, whose Rock Ventures partnership will develop the Cleveland and
Cincinnati casinos, personally gave Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson a letter
with the hiring pledge at a "Vote Yes on Issue 3" rally today in Cleveland.

Similar letters are being prepared for the mayors of Columbus, Cincinnati and
Toledo by Rock Ventures and by Penn National Gaming, which would develop the
Columbus and Toledo casinos.

"I am writing to provide you with assurance that, as developers of the casino
that would be authorized under State Issue 3, we will make hiring of local
residents to work in the casino our highest priority," the letter says.

"To that end, we commit to you that a minimum of 90 percent of employees hired
to fill the permanent casino jobs will be residents of the city and its
surrounding MSA.

"A significant part of our proposal is the job creation our development will
bring to the communities that will host the casinos," the letter reads.
"Maximizing that benefit relies heavily on the recruitment and hiring of local
residents. We will also endeavor to make certain that our workforce reflects
the diversity of the community."

At the rally, Gilbert told a crowd of 300 supporters at a downtown union hall
that, "In America we build things. It all starts with us building stuff that
creates long-term jobs and that's what we will do with the casinos."

Mayor Jackson said anyone who supports jobs in turn supports Issue 3.

"It will mean hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Cleveland. It's what
we need to take care of our cities and our families. My support is about the
construction jobs and the permanent jobs. This will help Cleveland become the
center of activity in northeast Ohio," he said.

Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association,
dismissed the myths about rising crime rates once a casino is built.

"We went to Detroit and talked to the cops on the street and we went to West
Virginia. Crime does not go up. Don't believe the lies they're telling you,"
he said.

Terry Joyce, president of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades
Council, told the crowd, "We haven't seen organized labor behind a casino
issue like this one. This campaign will be won in this next week and Issue 3
will pass."

Similar rallies are planned for Columbus on Wednesday and Cincinnati on
Thursday.

The Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan 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 will generate
$11 billion in economic impact during construction and the first five years of
casino operations. It will create 34,000 new jobs for Ohioans, and will
provide an estimated $651 million in tax revenues each year, 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
projected to increase 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.

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, for Ohio
Jobs and Growth Plan