Slot Opponent Holds IGT Stock

OHIO – As reported by the Columbus Dispatch: "Although he opposes potential November ballot initiatives to permit slot machines at Ohio's horse-racing tracks, Republican gubernatorial candidate J. Kenneth Blackwell holds stock in the world's leading maker of slot machines.

"Critics say Blackwell's investment in Reno, Nev.-based International Game Technology is inconsistent with his views on gambling because he could profit if the company ever puts slots in Ohio.

"Brian Rothenberg, spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party, said that as an owner of IGT stock, Blackwell 'stands to make a profit off something he says he's ideologically opposed to. How does he reconcile his conscience from his pocketbook? '

"Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo said that is not an issue because Blackwell opposes the expansion of state-sponsored gambling and 'there's no conflict, real or perceived.'

"…Even so, David P. Zanotti, president of the Ohio Roundtable, a Cleveland-area publicpolicy group, called Blackwell's position 'a raging inconsistency.'

"…The number of slot machines installed at casinos, riverboats and other venues in North America reached 829,000 last year, and IGT estimates it produced about 65 percent of those machines…"