DHL plan raises casino stakes

FROM: Cincinnati Enquirer

BY: Alexander Coolidge

WILMINGTON - Big promises of desperately needed jobs have this small community of about 12,000 abuzz with the debate over whether to support a casino operation just outside town.
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Proponents of a statewide initiative to make the proposed casino legal say the project would create 5,000 jobs. That possibility comes as air delivery service DHL is considering largely shutting down its hub operation here - a move that could devastate the area’s largest employer, ABX Air, which operates the Wilmington air park and provides other services for DHL. Up to 12,000 jobs could be lost at the air park and the surrounding region.

At Books ‘N’ More on Main Street in downtown Wilmington, mother and daughter Marla and Jen Stewart say job concerns have boosted support for the measure, although many residents worry that a casino could damage the community’s character.

Job stability is a real concern in Marla Stewart’s household. While the 58-year-old owns the bookstore, her husband, Dan, works at the hub for DHL.

And while her husband supports the measure, Marla Stewart suspects that developers are promising more than they can deliver.

“I just don’t see it - I don’t believe the money’s going to come rolling in,” she said.

Her daughter disagrees.

Jen Stewart, 34, who owns Jen’s Uptown Deli in the bookstore, said she understands concerns about permitting gambling but doesn’t think the community should reject potential new jobs.

“Personally, I’m excited about any new business bringing new opportunities here. I think it could bring lots of tourists,” she said.

Industry observers say gambling measures get a closer look when times are tough. Clinton County is looking hard.

Though their drive for the casino began before DHL dropped its jobs bombshell, proponents say employment concerns boosted their signature drive. The petition drive in Clinton County yielded more than 5,200 signatures - roughly one in five registered voters.

“We’re offering jobs when others are being lost,” said Rick Lertzmann, co-founder of MyOhioNow.com, the group seeking the ballot measure.

Last week, developers submitted a petition to Ohio election officials with more than 800,000 signatures - almost twice the 402,235 signatures needed. They are waiting for the office to certify the petition and place the measure on the November ballot. If approved, they plan to spend $600 million to build a 2 million-square-foot complex, including a casino with up to 5,000 slot machines, 100 tables and a 1,500-room hotel.

Since MyOhioNow.com’s first announcement that it would seek to legalize gambling, the issue took on another light after DHL said in late May that it was negotiating a deal with rival UPS to take over several functions handled at its Wilmington hub. Local officials estimate that if finalized late this year, the pact could directly eliminate 8,000 jobs and slow the local economy enough to wipe out 4,000 more.

Clinton County officials say potential casino jobs would pay better but won’t number enough to offset the damage if DHL pulls out. Average starting pay at the casino is estimated between $12 and $15 an hour, compared with $10 an hour to start at the air park, county administrator and economic development director Mark Brooker said.

“The jobs will be as good or better, but they won’t replace everything if we lose the ABX jobs,” said Brooker, who noted the casino jobs will require different skills.

Getting the measure on the Ohio ballot doesn’t guarantee approval. Ohio voters have voted down legalizing casino gambling three times in the past two decades: in 1990, 1996 and 2006.

Developers estimate that the casino project would generate more than $800 million in casino revenues a year. With hotel, restaurant and retail revenues, they estimate total revenues of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion. Minneapolis-based Lakes Entertainment, headed by World Poker Tour co-founder Lyle Berman, has signed on to build and run the casino.

If approved, the measure would legalize the single casino - about 50 miles northeast of Cincinnati. Thirty percent of gambling revenues would be distributed to all 88 Ohio counties on a per-capita basis.

Alma Plummer, 74, the owner of Alma’s Amish Cheese Barn - located on the site of the proposed casino in Chester Township - said she and her husband, Roger, 75, haven’t lost any friends by agreeing to sell their 94-acre property to developers trying to import gambling. She collected signatures at the store as part of the petition drive.

“I think there’ll be lots of closet voters (in favor). Several people said they’ve never been in a casino and don’t plan to go, but they think it’s good for the local economy.”

Still, not all residents are convinced.

Kayla Gill, a Wilmington resident who turns 18 in October, is looking forward to voting for the first time in November and plans to vote against the casino proposal.

“I don’t support gambling - it puts people into debt,” she said.