COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- My Ohio Now PAC and Blue Water Joint Venture, LLC have filed a Complaint in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas alleging that the "No On 6 Committee" made false and defamatory statements in its advertising campaign to defeat Issue 6 at the polls on November 4.

The Complaint names as defendants both the No On 6 Committee and its funding source, Penn National Gaming, Inc., the parent company of the Argosy family of casinos, which are located throughout the Midwest. The complaint states that Penn National Gaming has a direct and significant financial interest in defeating Issue 6 at the polls.

Stating claims for defamation, deceptive trade practices, and false advertising, the Complaint identifies numerous false and misleading statements used by "No On 6" to deceive voters, including false claims that hundreds of millions of dollars in profits will leave Ohio each year, that the proposed casino may pay no taxes at all, that Issue 6 permits the casino to employ criminals, and that Lyle Berman's business history is littered with wrongdoing. An award, including punitive damages, is being sought against both the "No On 6 Committee" and Penn National for their shared role in publishing the false and misleading statements in an effort to prevent competition for the Argosy casinos.

The lawsuit follows the positive decision by a panel of the Ohio Election Commission ("OEC") who found in favor of the MYOHIONOW/ISSUE 6 complaint of false advertising by the Vote No On 6 PAC. The OEC panel found probable cause that the Vote No On 6 PAC violated election laws by making false statements in numerous advertisements. A full hearing is scheduled.

The OEC complaint dealt directly with the false, misleading and deceptive ads that have been broadcast to the Ohio voters for the last several weeks as part of a reported $40 million dollar campaign financed by Penn National/Argosy Casino. The passage of the Issue 6 measure would legalize a $600 million resort/casino in Clinton County. The opening of this Ohio casino would take away hundreds of millions of dollars from the Argosy casino which is in Lawrenceburg, Indiana but relies of the Cincinnati/Dayton area for the majority of its business.

"We believe that it is time for Penn National/Argosy Casinos to be held accountable for their actions. This may include providing this information to every gaming authority in every state where Penn National holds a gaming license. We are considering in presenting a case whether Penn National meets the ethical standards to hold such gaming licenses," said Rick Lertzman, co-founder of MyOhioNow.com.

"Following the release of their campaign spending (over $27 million in less than 6 weeks), it has been reported that Penn National is spending nearly $1 million every business day to destroy Issue 6. The reason for this outrageous spending is a likely attempt to end any attempt at casino gaming for years to come and to thwart any possible competition from an Ohio casino. Ohio voters need to know the facts," Lertzman said, "because, for Ohio, this is going to be deal or no deal. Penn National wants to keep Argosy Casino without competition for years to come. This means if Issue 6 loses, there will not be 10,000 new jobs for Ohioans or hundreds in millions in tax revenues for the state. If Issue 6 loses there will be no jobs and Argosy Casino will continue to suck money and jobs from Ohio."

For More Info: Rick Lertzman

                   216 926 2661

SOURCE My Ohio Now PAC