COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters hard hit by the economic downturn opened their state to casino gambling Tuesday after an expensive campaign promising thousands of jobs.

Passage of Issue 3 marked a significant victory for Penn National Gaming Inc. and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who spent nearly $35 million promoting four big-city casinos in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo as the Ohio Jobs & Growth Plan.

With 91 percent of precincts reporting unofficial results, Issue 3 passed 53 percent to 47 percent.

"It's pretty obvious that the Ohio electorate bought into the whole culture of despair that's going on with the economy," said gambling opponent David Zanotti of the Ohio Policy Roundtable.

Ohio becomes the 39th state to legalize casinos and a coveted prize that had held out among neighboring casino states Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. TruthPAC, backed by MTR Gaming Inc. chairman Jeffrey Jacobs, spent almost $6 million opposing the measure.

Tuesday's vote — which followed four failed Ohio gambling issues in 20 years — was met with immediate resistance. State Rep. Lou Blessing, a Republican who fought the plan, said he plans to push a ballot issue next May that amends elements of the plan, collects more taxes from the casinos, and put the licenses up for bid.

Lawmakers cannot make changes to the casino outline without going to the ballot because it was inserted into the state Constitution.

"I don't know how even the newspaper that endorsed this issue could possibly object to that," Blessing said. "There are some obvious problems that need to be fixed."