A plan to 'see and raise' on Kentucky casinos

Cincinnati Councilman Jeff Berding wants to make sure Cincinnati gets a seat in the game when it comes to casino gambling. The stakes are too high, he says, in tourist dollars and tax revenues, to let all of the bets be placed in Indiana and Kentucky.

Maybe he has a point. He proposes an amendment to Ohio’s constitution that would only come into play if Kentucky amends its constitution to allow casinos on the south side of the Ohio River. If that happens, the Ohio amendment would allow Ohio counties bordering Kentucky casino counties, the local option of setting up a few gambling houses of their own.

The Kentucky plan under consideration envisions a casino at the Turfway Park race track and another, free-standing operation in Campbell or Kenton counties.

Under Berding’s plan, a casino in Campbell County would mean Hamilton and Clermont counties could opt for up to two casinos each. Or they could opt for none, leaving the benefits – and problems – of casinos to Kentucky.

Ohio voters have turned down casinos three times on a statewide basis, but Berding says casinos in Northern Kentucky would change the game. He says his proposal will at least allow Ohioans near those casinos “a chance to discuss the implications” such operations would have on the economy and social fabric of Southwest Ohio. Whether or not you want casinos in Ohio, those implications are worth discussing.