The Beacon (!) provides a nice summary of the differences between allowing competitive bidding, and allowing the monopolists to write their own profits into the state constitution.
“The other two bidders, the Forest City Enterprises partnership and PITG Gaming, then both made commitments to help construct an arena, said Kevin Evanto, spokesman for Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.
‘We're virtually guaranteed of getting a new arena here in Pittsburgh without using any local tax dollars,’ Evanto said. ‘This isn't the only thing that these gaming applicants have offered. This is just the tip of the iceberg.’
He said competition resulted in three bids offering about a $1 billion in investment in downtown Pittsburgh, plus another $300 million or so for a new home for the Penguins, no matter who wins.
`This Ohio legislation, if it passes, would do none of that,' said Eadington of the institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming. ‘Basically, it just makes some people rich.’"
It's enough to make you think that the racetrack owners wrote the ammendment themselves. Certainly, Issue 3 avoids anything that looks like competitive bidding, competition, or meaningful oversight.
Guess that's what happens when the fox writes the rules about access to the chicken coop.
