Nevada, as you might have heard, has a real gambling industry that provides real tax revenue to the state. So much revenue, in fact, that the state has had a surplus for the past three years.

In Reno, the local paper runs articles with headlines line: Gubernatorial candidates debate how to spend tax revenue.

Could you imagine seeing a headline like that in the Plain Dealer?

Well- if you believe the ads for Issue 3- then you might well be expecting just that.

You might think that Issue 3 is the first step toward getting REAL gambling in Ohio.

But it's not.

Issue 3 is just like Issue 4: a constitutional ammendment put on the ballot by signatures PURCHASED by big business and promoted with ads PAID FOR by the same businesses.

I am all for gambling in Ohio- real gambling- not a couple of slot machines at a race track- which is all Issue 3 will provide.

One way of doing that successfully is with a plan like the one in PA that was passed by their legislature, not gambling advocates.

That plan doesn't just give away licenses to the few people who sponsored the bill- like Ohio's Issue 3. Instead- it forces potential casino operators to bid - guaranteeing billions of dollars of investment in PA- including a new hockey stadium for Pittsburgh.

When it comes to gambling, Ohioans certainly could learn something from PA about earning.