Kasich Hires Consultants on Gambling

DDN:

Gov. John Kasich’s administration on Thursday announced that two companies have been selected as consultants to “advise the state on how best to harmonize Ohio’s gaming policies and optimize gaming’s benefits to Ohio.”
The companies, who will be paid about $400 per hour, are Spectrum Gaming Group of Lindwood, N.J., and Moelis & Company of Los Angeles, Calif., an investment bank, a press release said.
The total cost has not been projected because the scope of the contract with each firm still is being worked out, said Molly O’Reilly, spokeswoman for the Department of Administrative Services.

$400 an hour sounds like a good chunk of money to this farmer.  The consultants will work with the state to write rules and regulations.  If the Republicans in the Legislature weren't religious nuts, they could have done all of this in an open process 10 years ago and allowed bidders to bid for licenses instead of letting potential casino owners write them in a Constitutional Amendment which gives them a monopoly on casinos.  Instead they didn't, and Ohioans have been going to other states to gamble since.