Developers plan us$ 450 million casino resort in Ohio

Officials with Mahoning Valley Development Group this week announced plans to place an issue on the November ballot asking Ohio voters to legalize a fifth casino in Ohio. MVDG's plans call for a us$ 450 million casino and resort at a site near Route 11 in Vienna. "What we are proposing is a full-scale casino that will allow all types of gambling, not just slot machines but table games. All types of gambling that is legal," said MVDG partner Rick Lertzman.

"My partner (Dr. Brad Pressman) and I have been a part of successfully placing three past gaming issues on the Ohio ballot," Lertzman said in a press release. "We fully believe we will succeed, once again, on placing this issue on the Ohio ballot. Our polling tells us that Ohioans will strongly support the expansion of gaming to the Mahoning Valley. The Valley, which has faced huge unemployment and harsh financial times and certainly deserves the ability to fully compete with a full-scale casino property rather than the second-tier, limited racino that the politicians are supporting."

Lertzman said MVDG will first submit a constitutional amendment to the Attorney General of Ohio. MVDG would have to then collect 350,000 signatures by July 1 and the issue would then be placed on the ballot. If approved, it would amend the 2009 casino issue that currently allows the state to have four casinos: one each in Columbus, Toledo, Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Lertzman said if the issue doesn't pass, they would try again in 2013. Recently, Penn National and Governor John Kasich's office announced an agreement over the transfer of Penn National's racetracks and slot machine parlors, now located in Toledo and Columbus. Plans are for one to be relocated to Austintown. Several issues must be resolved before construction can begin, but Penn National officials and local lawmakers were confident with the plans.

Lertzman described Penn National's proposed facility as a "glorified internet cafe."