Ohio towns of Lordstown, Monroe give green light to casinos

11/9/2005

Voters in two small Ohio communities yesterday strongly approved casino-related agreements their local governments made with the Eastern Shawnee Indian tribe.

In Monroe, a city of 9,500 in southwest Ohio, and Lordstown, a village of 3,700 in the northeastern part of the state, residents were asked to authorize "an intergovernmental agreement" in case the tribe was ever allowed to build casinos.

The Butler County Board of Elections reported unofficially 2,028 votes, or 66 percent, in favor in Monroe, and 1,029, or 34 percent, against. The Trumbull County Board of Elections reported 996 votes, or 69 percent, for the agreement in Lordstown, and 452, or 31 percent, against.