Statement by Rev. John Edgar, Chairperson of the Anti-gambling Task Force of the United Methodist Church:  The promoters of Issue 3, Penn National Gaming Inc. and Mr. Dan Gilbert, have attempted to conceal the truth about the predatory nature of casino gambling and the fatal flaws in the self-serving proposal they wrote to create their monopoly in our constitution.  They have spent 10s of millions of dollars on misleading advertising that falsely claims casinos will be good for Ohio offering empty promises of jobs and taxes.  These distortions have confused many Ohioans, who sincerely wish the best for themselves and their fellow citizens in the midst of difficult times. The truth however is very different.  Issue 3 will harm Ohio because casinos by their very nature are predatory.  Casinos prey upon the individuals who are enticed to gamble and harm the entire communities where they are located.  This is why I have led the efforts by the United Methodist Church for 19 years to keep casinos out of our state. Modern casinos rely primarily upon video slot machines, the most addictive form of gambling ever invented.  The level of pathological gambling will increase by 100% in an area extending 50 miles in every direction from each of the four casinos that are proposed in Issue 3. Casinos bring with them increased crime.  The most definitive national studies document crime rates go up 8 to 10% each and every year, when a casino is brought into a community. Casinos undermine the existing local economy.  Each video slot machine installed at one of the proposed casinos will pull $100,000 out of the local economy.  This will result in the loss of one permanent existing job for every slot machine.  Issue 3 proposes 20,000 slot machines, which will eliminate a total of 20,000 jobs. Furthermore, all of the social and economic problems caused by casinos undermine the budgets of local and state government.  For every tax dollar raised by gambling, 3 tax dollars have to be spent respo