May 26, 2013

Dan Gilbert Backs Casinos for Ohio

March 12, 2009 by 19 Comments

online-gambling-14While Ohio has voted down the idea of casinos at least two times that I know about, it looks like it will be back on the ballot again.  This time, the Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert is on board as an investor.

The press release:

Ohio voters will have the opportunity to approve a constitutional amendment that, if passed, will result in $1 billion in required new private investment, $200 million in licensing fees, $600 million annually in tax revenue – most of it for counties, cities and school districts – as well as create an estimated 20,000 new jobs for the state.

We will leave the moral dilemma debate on gambling for other websites that deal with politics and stuff like that.  I would just like to point out how wonderful it is to have Dan Gilbert in Ohio.  I was skeptical that this Detroit guy was just going to own the Cavs and not really settle into the area.  And while I know he stands to make exceptional amounts of money in the Ohio casino game, it should be noted how much of an investment Gilbert has made in Ohio other than the phenomenal job he has done with the Cavs so far.

I knew Gilbert had employed people in a Qucken loans office downtown, but I didn’t realize just how many employees he had state-wide.  According to the article Gilbert employs more than 2000 people state-wide including the 350-person Quicken office in Cleveland.  It is a breath of fresh air for us Cleveland sports fans.  Now lets just hope he makes enough running casinos in Ohio that he can justify buying the Indians next.

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  • Boomhauer

    I think I’d rather have Dan buy the Browns. The Dolans may be cheap, but at least they put competent people in charge of their organization, unlike Randy the Boy Wonder.

  • RandyOSU

    Craig-well said!

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    I sometimes wonder what our baseball team would be like if Gibert was the owner.

  • RandyOSU

    Scott……….don’t wonder, there would be flags hanging over the ballpark. Gilbert would never be left a dollar short on any facet if he owned the Tribe-he strives to be #1 in everything he does. It starts with his business (Quicken Loans) and runs as THE mission statement in any enterprise he’s involved with, including taking care of his players, employees, and ticket holders alike.

  • Chris M

    # Scott – Sometimes I wonder what would have happened it Steinbrenner bought the team. Then I sit in the corner and weep quietly.

  • Chris M

    it = if

  • http://www.NoLogoNeeded.com Don_NoLogoNeeded.com

    I don’t know if it was naivety, but I used to think owners didn’t matter in pro sports. Wow, was I wrong.

    Look no further than the three franchise in Cleveland, Ohio. Dan Gilbert is the best and he has the best team. Coincidence? I think no.

    Keep up the good work, Mr. Gilbert. Perhaps Mr. Dolan and Mr. Lerner will learn a thing or two.

  • jt

    I really am so sick of the Dolan bashing. Look, the guy has been a Clevelander for life and he loves all the local teams. He is very charitable (under the radar) to the community. He wants the Indians to win just as much as anybody on this site. The team was one game from the World Series two years ago!!! Just because he is rich enough to own a baseball team, does NOT mean he can throw limitless amounts of money at the baseball team! They are going to have their highest payroll in 6-7 years this year in this economy. Look at the Indians attendance numbers vs. the Cavs attendance figures as well. I love Dan Gilbert just as much as the next guy, but things are a whole lot easier when you have Lebron James on your team. It’s just a fact.

  • mike

    i really dont think there would be a significant difference if gilbert owned the indians. its possible he would spend a little bit more than dolan, but he would hardly get into the upper echelon realm of wanton spending like the yankees, mets or redsox. we love to complain that dolan is cheap, but cleveland is a middle-sized market and in 2008 the indians payroll was #16 out of 30 teams – right smack in the middle. they were right in that muddled middle with milwaukee, cincy, arizona, SF, san diego, colorado, texas, baltimore. the fact is, comparing MLB to the NBA is apples to oranges. the nba is set up to allow a team like cleveland to keep its superstar longterm if it so chooses with its cap situation. yes gilbert has been a fantastic owner, but we cant assume he would have the same level of “generosity” if he owned a baseball team. if the nba were setup like MLB with no cap and players truly going to the highest bidder, i think you are dreaming if you think cleveland would be able to keep lebron. in that scenario, NY would put up an insane amount of money that is revenue-supported and cleveland would never be able to compete with it.

  • jt

    Amen Mike.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Craig

    Just to be fair, I wasn’t trying to completely bash Dolan. I love the way he stepped up this year with Kerry Wood, etc. Still, I don’t think there is any doubting Gilbert’s competitiveness and what an asset it is from a fan’s perspective.

  • mike

    craig – agreed 100% on gilbert. love the guy. based on what we’ve seen from other nba owners like the suns and clippers to name a few, gilbert could clearly be stingy if he wanted to be. hes not and that has to be respected. i just dont think his nba-spending would translate to mlb-spending.

  • Nicko

    @5 That makes no sense on so many levels…

  • Chris M

    Which part?

  • Chris M

    The part where Steinbrenner buys the Yankees a year or 2 year after he wanted to buy the Indians, or the part where the Yankees win 6 World Series titles after he bought them?

  • Nicko

    haha, nevermind then…Im too lazy to explain.

    (I don’t think they won any titles before him.)

  • RandyOSU

    jt&co-you guys have your facts wrong relative to the Indian’s payroll under Dolan. You can state it’s the highest in 6/7 year’s if you’d like (and as the Dolan’s would like you to) but it’s missing the point that it has been ranked among the lowest quartile in all of MLB during that time. Also, the Indian’s payroll does not rank #16 out of 30; rather it continues to rank in the lower quartile to lower third in all of MLB. You guys can also take shots regarding Cleveland’s marketsize-the reality is Cleveland is the 15th largest media market in the entire country.

    The point here is that the Dolan’s should be running payroll minimally at the middle of the pack (if not higher during contending years) and they remain far below that number. Take a look at St. Louis’s average payroll-they are almost the EXACT same size market as Cleveland.

    We won’t know what Gilbert would spend…….certainly well enough to contend year after year after year (aka St. Louis Cardinals style) versus managing to operating profit on a yearly basis.

  • mike

    randy – http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/salaries

    cleveland is #16 out of 30 in 2008. im not sure where they rank for 2009, but im pretty sure the payroll has gone up slightly from last year’s $78.9 mil. and so they are probably ranked in about the same spot.

    if cleveland has the 15th largest media market, then it sounds to me like being #16 in payroll is just about right.

    the indians payroll was really low early on when dolan first bought the team since the indians were going through a rebuilding. that was when guys like sizemore, cliff lee, hafner, victor, etc. were still making relatively nominal money. even CC wasnt really breaking the bank then. whats the point in spending a ton of money on other guys back then when the team is trying to rebuild? i have no problem with that.

    if you want to compare St. Louis, thats fine. St. Louis had a 2008 payroll of $100 million to rank #11 – roughly $20 mil more than cleveland. you have to also be fair in that St. Louis is a hands down Cardinals #1 city. some go so far as to say st. louis is the “best” baseball city in the country. st louis has no NBA competition (unlike the indians which has to contend with fans spending hard earned money on the cavs and lebron) and has only average NFL competition (St. louis is NOT the nfl city like cleveland is). dont forget, we are in a ridiculous national recession and cleveland has been dealing with this on a local level for quite some time now. this isnt the mid-90s with a flourishing economy, no NFL competition in town and a crappy NBA team. im not sure what the respective revenues were last year, but im willing to bet st. louis killed cleveland in generated revenue over the past few years which helps support their higher payroll.

  • mike

    also – st. louis’ 2008 average salary was $3,049,226 and cleveland’s was $3,037,310. practically identical.

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