Will Hard Times Be Good Times for Casino Supporters? ; a Poll Shows the Issue has Support; Voters Have Rejected Gambling Issues Three Times Before.

Summary

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WILMINGTON -- When the two businessmen from northeastern Ohio paid their first visit to Clinton County officials in May 2007, Commissioner Randy Riley's first thought was, "This has got to be a joke."

Rick Lertzman and Dr. Bradford Pressman, a retired podiatrist, laid out a plan to transform a Chester Twp. farm into the third- largest casino in the United States with 5,000 slot machines; poker, blackjack, craps and roulette tables; a luxury hotel; a championship golf course; a 2,500-seat theater and eight upscale restaurants. It would employ 2,600 construction workers and create up to 5,000 permanent full-time jobs, the men said.

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Will Hard Times Be Good Times for Casino Supporters? ; a Poll Shows the Issue has Support; Voters Have Rejected Gambling Issues Three Times Before.

Bankrolling the project would be Lakes Entertainment Inc. of Minnetonka, Minn., led by a colorful high-stakes poker player named Lyle Berman. Lakes, formerly Grand Casinos, is a publicly held company that mostly manages Indian tribal casinos.

Riley said he decided to support the idea a year ago after visiting Lakes' Four Winds Casino in Michig...

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