11/27/02

Columbus - Legislation to allow slot machines at Ohio's racetracks "is probably dead - for now," said Sen. Lou Blessing, a Cincinnati Republican who sponsored the bill.

Senate leaders had listed Blessing's bill among their top priorities in the final weeks of the legislative session.

However, a veto threat from the governor, a groundswell of opposition and time constraints all conspired against its passage.

"Even if we would pass this in the next two weeks or so, I have no doubt that the governor would wait 10 days and then veto the bill," Blessing said in an interview yesterday. "We would be asking people to come back after Christmas for an override vote, and I suspect a whole lot of them are going to be in Tempe, Arizona."

That's where the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes will be playing in the Fiesta Bowl.

Blessing did not know whether committee hearings on the bill will continue.

The bill's apparent demise was welcome news for Tom Smith, director of public policy for the Ohio Council of Churches and an outspoken foe of gambling.

"We're very grateful to the governor for his very strong stand against this," Smith said.

"I think his opposition and the opposition from the other statewide officials had a lot to do with them pulling the plug on slot machines - at least for the time being."

Taft made no secret of his opposition and he repeated his veto threat in a letter sent last week to all members of the General Assembly.

Even before the letter arrived, Blessing said he had the 17 Senate votes needed to pass the measure but doubted whether he had the 20 needed to override Taft's expected veto.

Blessing still plans to reintroduce the bill next year. Taft still plans to try to block it.

"The governor's opposition isn't going to change," said Taft spokesman Joe Andrews.

Although Blessing doesn't expect to change Taft's mind, he predicted that next year's projected budget deficit will change the minds of some anti-gambling legislators.

"I don't think most members have a clue how drastic the cuts are that we are going to have to make next year," he said. "If there's a choice between taxes and VLTs (video lottery terminals), I think you'll see people going with VLTs."

Budget experts are projecting a two-year shortfall as large as $4 billion when the next budget year begins July 1.

Taft has disputed the projections, saying it's too early to determine whether new revenues will be needed.

Blessing's pledge to continue his gambling crusade comes as gambling interests continue to pour money into legislative campaigns and political party committees, donating more than $1 million between January 1999 and October 2002, according to a study released yesterday by the government watchdog group Ohio Citizen Action.

Current members of the General Assembly received $220,525 from gambling interests.

The single largest donation - $500,000 to a Republican Party account - came from Stanley Fulton, chairman of Anchor Gaming.

The Las Vegas-based firm was purchased this summer by International Gaming Technology, the world's top manufacturer of slot machines.

IGT's Ohio lobbyists, Paul Tipps and Neil Clark, have donated a total of $82,038, Citizen Action reported.

Blessing insisted that the donations don't sway lawmakers.

"They (gambling interests) support people who support them," he said.

"That's true of business groups and labor groups and everyone else."

Still, the gambling forces bet on the anti-gambling governor, giving him more than $60,000.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

stheis@plaind.com, 1-800-228-8272