(Toledo, OH)  --  The claims and counter claims continue to fly on the eve before voters cast their decision on the volatile Issue Three that would legalize casino gambling in the state's four largest cities.  Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo. The proponents claim it is a win-win situation for an economically challenged state, creating thousands of jobs and adding much needed revenue to the state tax coffers.  Opponents however, say some of the estimates of jobs and tax revenues are too rosy and just won't add up.  A recent study by the Ohio Department of Taxation agrees with the proponents that once the four casinos are up and running in the state and fully operational, then the state could expect a tax windfall of about 500-million dollars a year. Actually, the actual number, the study says, is somewhere between 470 million and 643 million dollars a year. The opponents, however, are quick to point out that Penn National Gaming, the company that would run the casinos and which has bankrolled the measure ,is not under any constitutional mandate as to when it must build and operate the casinos.  And some opponents take issue with the licensing fees for each casino set in the amendment at 50-million dollars each.  Those critics contend that the value of being the proprietor of a gambling monopoly in the state is worth much more than a 50 million dollar license fee and that the state is being shortchanged.

In a recent TV ad, Toledo native and celebrity, Janie Farr, is endorsing Issue Three and says he thinks it will be good for Toledo's economy because it would have an almost immediate 300 million dollar impact, however opponents contend the 300 million dollars is for the licensing fee and construction costs and there is no timetable as to when the casino would have to be built or those fees paid.

Another issue that has created some heat between two sides on the issue focuses on some of the language in the bill regarding cash wagering. Critics say the measure does not mention cash wagers and in effect exempts those wagers from the 33 percent tax that would be levied on the casino's gross profits. The proponents have responded by saying those cash wagers will be taxed despite the ballot language. The Department of Taxation study does point out that because of the way the amendment is written, the collection of taxes on cash wagers could be an issue and may have to be amended by legislative means, otherwise tax revenue estimates would have to be revised downward.