Residents of the little town of Monroe, in Ohio, recently voted in favor of the construction of a Las Vegas-style casino in their territory. Over 66 percent voted in favor, while 33 percent voted against. With their vote in favor they approved the agreement between the local government and the Eastern Shawnee Indian tribe of Oklahoma. With the revenues from the casino, city coffers will have a benefit of over 50 million dollars. The estimated cost of the casino complex is 750 millions dollars.
Monroe and the West Seneca tribe, based in Oklahoma, reached an agreement that outlines the responsibilities and expectations of the casino project. Such casino is likely to be located southeast of Interstate 75 or Ohio 63. One of the owners of Corridor 75 Park, where the casino is to be located, said that it has been a fair and honest campaign, where the public decided what is better for the community. In their turn, Monroe officials said that with the agreement they can have some control over the development of the project and they will be able to make profit from the share of revenues. Anyway, they said, they could not stop them from building a casino on private land. This way, at least, they can keep some control and take some benefit.
While supporters of the casino said that their vote in favor does not mean that gambling should not have limits, opponents expressed their dislike on how the council approached the whole issue. The pastor of Monroe United Methodist Church, Brad Olson, said that he thinks residents do not want a casino but they rely on city officials, for they believe they know better what is good for the city. According to Olson, they did not take into account the social costs a casino will bring out.
