Tristate Saturated With Gambling

[cosmo96]

I live in Xenia, Ohio, fifty miles from Cincinnati, fifty miles from Columbus. If everything goes as planned there is a Racino at Scioto Downs; a casino in downtown Columbus; a racino in Lebanon; a racino in Dayton,a racino in Cincinnati; a casino in downtown Cincinnati; Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky. All of these gambling establishments are in a fifty mile radius of my home. Within approximately one hundred miles you can add:Keenland, Red Mile, Churchhill Downs, Indiana Downs and Hoosier Park. Also,Mountaineer and Wheeling are not that far away. There are casinos all along the Ohio River from Cincinnati to Evansville, Indiana including Ellis Park. I hope I didn't miss any. There are more gambling establishments in this region than New York or California. What will happen? Something has got to give. It is obvious to me that the area is saturated, and there will be a lot of financial failures, lack of horses, etc. I don't consider myself a genius or financial wizard, but I can see what will happen. The moguls that control these interests are far more educated than me. What are they thinking?

[rrpic6]

I think the Ohio Valley Region is on the verge of an economic boom. We have the Gas/Shale industry, new mills, a rebounding GM in Ohio, as well as a growing Medical Mecca in the Pittsburgh area. Penn National has spent 25 million to acquire land in my neighborhood to build Hollywood at Mahoning Valley Race Course, which should open in 2014.

The competition is a good thing. Its great to go to Vegas, but its nice to drive an hour or so to get the same atmosphere for a day, without the travel expenses, or travel hassles, especially for Senior Citizens. I've found the Meadows Casino and Race Track, about 30 miles South of Pittsburgh to be as nice as any local Vegas Casino. Its set-up for the OTB is great. Plus each Casino/Racino is hungry to get you in the door. Signing up for a Players tracking card guarantees lots of mail and freebies.

Gambling has always held a great mystique in the Youngstown area. It was quite easy to find a local bar to place a bet on most sports. There was even a Club in the Warren area that had a satellite dish and showed the Meadows Harness races, giving out a program and taking basic wagers, with no license of course.

RR

[therussmeister]

Each of the moguls are thinking they will be the one that survives.

[shouldacoulda]

I really think it's happening all over to some degree. The states need revenue to make up shortfalls in their budgets and it creates jobs. People by and large, I feel are stupid and they will flock to these places even though they know the odds are against them. It's a sad statement on our society in my opinion. They hope against reality anyway and usually walk away with less money than they started with. If losing your hard earned money in a casino is your idea of fun (not you per say), well then have a ball. I would rather play a pony.

[VeryOldMan]

I suspect a big part is the number of different states (and/or jurisdictions if there is tribal gaming in the area) in your radius. I see what is happening in Maryland - the racing circuit has to compete and/or is diluted by overlapping meets with WV, PA, DE, VA and NJ; Maryland just authorized table games so that its slots-only casinos can compete with WV, PA, DE and NJ (to a lesser extent).

Each state is trying to hoover up all the money it can and you end up with a saturation that probably doesn't help anyone in the long term. Too much capital committed to too many gambling venues and horse racing spread too thin to support the dwindling interest in the sport.

[proximity]

What will happen?

what will happen is that they will actually have to COMPETE and you won't have situations like penn national and charles town with $6 poker rake and no comps!!

[thaskalos]

I really think it's happening all over to some degree. The states need revenue to make up shortfalls in their budgets and it creates jobs. People by and large, I feel are stupid and they will flock to these places even though they know the odds are against them. It's a sad statement on our society in my opinion. They hope against reality anyway and usually walk away with less money than they started with. If losing your hard earned money in a casino is your idea of fun (not you per say), well then have a ball. I would rather play a pony.

Here's the deal:

The vast majority of the horseplayers are bucking much greater odds at the racetrack than they would face at the casino. They just don't know it yet...

[shouldacoulda]

Here's the deal:

The vast majority of the horseplayers are bucking much greater odds at the racetrack than they would face at the casino. They just don't know it yet...

I'd rather lose my money to my fellow bettors than a corporate conglomerate. :)

[onefast99]

Maryland just authorized table games so that its slots-only casinos can compete with WV, PA, DE and NJ (to a lesser extent).

A 3 card monte table set up on the blvd in Jersey City would compete with Atlantic City at this point! AC is on life support and unless they expand the casino zone to include the Meadowlands look for a few casinos to fold up shop soon.

[JustRalph]

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2013/02/05/oh--casino-revenue.html


Looks like money is a problem

[JustRalph]

A war is brewing. Ohio looks like a battleground

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2013/02/05/hollywood-trails-scioto-in-revenue-from-slots.html

[horses4courses]

It was quite easy to find a local bar to place a bet on most sports.

This sentence sums up the paradox that is sports wagering in the U.S.

Typical of most towns throughout the country, it implies corruption within local law enforcement, who willingly turn a blind eye to such practices.
Of all the vices on offer in society, unwinding on an evening over a couple of beers in a local bar, while having a wager on some current sporting events, is not regarded as detrimental to anyone.
The FBI doesn't take the same view, however, and will come down on larger operations that come to their attention. You can't help but get the feeling, though, that they never get more than a few drops from the bucket when it comes to cracking down on illegal bookmaking.
The rise of the internet has made their task even more difficult.
This issue always gets media attention around Super Bowl, and into March Madness. Nothing will change any time soon, though.
The merry go round keeps on turning........ :ThmbDown: