BY JOE VARDON
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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Today's political news
- Kasich hires two gambling advisers
- Danes to urge Ohio, Texas to stop using drug for executions
- Granville, 2 other Ohio villages hit Census mark
- Thousands protest cuts at California universities
- Testimony: Pennsylvania rubber-stamps gas wells
- Obama, Republicans agree on trimming the deficit, but that's about it
- Obama's plan delays the pain
- House's votes on spending bills may draw lines
- Teach for America bill heads to Kasich
- Senate panel might OK repeal of Ohio's estate tax
- Restaurants' opposition might stop gun bill in House
- Post offices brace for rush before tax day
- Ohio's new farm chief can overturn denial of egg farm
- O'Grady can run for judge, Husted says
- Kasich wants casinos to pay more
- Higher tax revenue might ease state's budget cuts
- High court grievance board gets new chief legal officer
- 2 Democrats seek end to Ohio death penalty
- Obama's sister puts spotlight on mother
Gov. John Kasich is preparing to ask Penn National Gaming and Rock Ohio Caesars to raise their antes for operating a casino in Ohio.
But Kasich could need an ace or two up his sleeve to pry more money from the groups preparing to operate the state's four future casinos.
Today, the Department of Administrative Services will name a gambling czar to advise the governor on the myriad gambling issues facing the state.
Yesterday, Kasich said Ohio's taxpayers "got a bad deal" on what casinos will have to pay to operate in the state and indicated that he would ask them to kick in more cash.
Included in the voter-approved 2009 constitutional amendment that allowed single casinos in Columbus, Toledo, Cleveland and Cincinnati were requirements for operators to pay $50 million each in state license fees, a $1.5 million license application fee, and a 33 percent tax on gross revenue.
If Kasich wants to raise those fees, he likely would need to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot to change the law or approach operators individually to ask for more money up front.
"Are these casino operators, who are going to make a lot of money off the state of Ohio, are they willing to do a little bit to help us in the tough budget times?" Kasich asked. "Are they willing to give us a little more money to help our schools? ... What more are they willing to do, or do they think they've done enough?"
Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for Penn National Gaming, developer of the Columbus and Toledo casinos, said Ohio's taxpayers knew the terms of the deal when they approved Issue 3 in November 2009.
"That issue was one of the best-covered ballot issues in Ohio history," Tenenbaum said. "Included in the constitutional amendment were very competitive, very fair license fees and tax rates. Voters were very informed on this issue because they passed it this time. They voted it down the previous four times."
When asked if Penn National would consider paying the state a higher license fee at Kasich's request, Tenenbaum said, "I'm not going to speak to that because I just have no idea what (Kasich) is talking about."
Jennifer Kulczycki, spokeswoman for Rock Gaming, which is teaming with Caesars Entertainment Corp. to open casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati, declined to respond.
Kasich said he doesn't want to raise taxes on the casinos or impede their ability to open.
The governor mentioned reservation gaming, video lottery terminals, racetracks and the Commercial Activities Tax as issues where an expert could help. Many of those issues could affect the bottom lines for casinos.
For instance, there are no federally recognized Native American tribes in Ohio, but there are avenues American Indian groups from inside or outside the state could pursue to acquire land and open a casino here. The governor's office could encourage them in that process.
Also, a debate is continuing over whether Ohio's casinos should pay the state's Commercial Activities Tax before or after they pay out winnings to gamblers.
Last week, the Legislative Service Commission said casinos should pay the activities tax based on gross receipts before paying out winnings - an opinion with which casino operators disagree. The commission said the General Assembly would have to amend state law to narrow the base on which casinos would be taxed.
In other business yesterday, Kasich, who signed the school calamity-days bill into law, responded to a question about economic development in Ohio in part by saying "we've got to make Ohio cool."
Kasich said that during a recent meeting at LexisNexis in Dayton, company Chief Executive Officer Mike Walsh told him that young people want to "head to the coast."
"Why do they want to go to the coast? It's cool," Kasich said. "Why do they want to go to Austin (Texas)? Have you ever been to Austin? It's very cool. If you want to go to the Triangle in North Carolina, go down there and check it out. It's cool."
Also yesterday, the Department of Administrative Services released salary information for Greg Moody, director of Kasich's Office of Health Transformation, and Amy McGee, director of former Gov. Ted Strickland's Executive Medicaid Management Administration.
Moody's base salary is $120,016 and McGee's salary was $110,011, lowering the overall savings for Kasich's staff and cabinet member salaries to about $28,500 from the previous administration's total.
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