I will trump your Casino Card with
my Greyhound Death Card

The history of gambling dates back a long time. A Pair of dice from about 1500 BC was found at a site in China. The history of passing a casino bill in Ohio goes back a long a way in political history. This state does not pass casino legislation ever. This does not stop the powers that be from trying. As I write this, the legislature in Ohio is currently looking at a bill to put a casino in Ohio as well as allowing Keno machines in bars and restaurants. The bill does not stand much of a chance as it is written currently but it has received some interest from the Governor. I have the perfect solution to getting this bill passed. Offer the people of the State of Ohio the opportunity to bring a casino to Ohio in exchange for making dog track racing illegal in Ohio. There are no operating tracks in Ohio but this would send a very strong message to the 15 states that have tracks. Ohio will lead by example politically while eliminating the possibility of the death and destruction that surrounds greyhound track racing from ever happening in our state.
The upside is enormous. Ohio would receive all the sales tax benefits from this type of venture, estimated to be about 250 million dollars annually based on the Indiana model. The local business would also benefit from having some seven million visitors to the area. The proposed casino would also create 5000 new jobs for Ohioans according to MyOhioNow.com. The idea behind the venture is all the revenue lost to the surrounding states, which already have gambling facilities, would stay in Ohio and benefit the schools. That is were the tax revenue is earmarked to be spent. In this economic climate the public school system can use all the help they can get.
The typical numbers posted by greyhound rescue organizations are usually between 12,000 and 30,000 greyhounds killed every year from greyhound track racing. There are many reasons for this but the most obvious is the over breeding of dogs to find the next superstar that will bring in big dollars and then discarding the slow or old ones. It costs money to house, feed and care for all of these dogs. It is well documented that track owners and some breeders take the more cost effective route and have the dogs murdered and put in mass graves. The tracks themselves are the next greatest source of death and abuse for these animals. The lure they chase is powered by electricity and moves fast enough to sever a dog in half. There are no safety precautions to keep dogs from falling into the lure pit while racing. It often happens that the dogs will bump each other into the pit and get electrocuted or sometimes fatally wounded while colliding with the mechanized rabbit. When these incidents occur it is extremely rare for any human to come to a dogs aid. There are laws pertaining to the tracks gambling license that state a Veterinarian is to be present during all races but the court record in almost every state shows that the legal system rarely punishes the dog track industry for negligence.
I am not a proponent of gambling but I am well aware of how the system works. This looks like a great bill to insert an earmark of my own for the betterment of the oldest dog species on earth. It would appear that this is a good time to transition into casino gambling as a state as well as for the nation. Gambling on racing as a whole has seen a decline but horse racing is doing well compared to dog racing. The dog track industry has seen its numbers slip by almost 60 percent in the last decade. Some of this can be attributed the success of the Greyhound Protection League. They are a very small volunteer organization. It is about time that governments take the lead on this issue. This is a very good proposal for the politicians to spin in a positive light for publicity while still accomplishing the worthy goal of helping to stop the destruction of perfectly healthy dogs whose lives are gambled with by an industry that is both profiteering and conscienceless. I believe that if Ohio sends this very strong signal to the other states by combining these two issues it would be the beginning of the end for dog track racing in America.

Jason Thompson