Meyers Lake Plaza owner perplexed by casino rumor that won't die

CANTON TWP. ‒ Don't make a moneyline bet on MGM Resorts building a casino here. And it's probably also a good idea to steer clear of parlays that include an MGM purchase of Meyers Lake Plaza shopping center for any project.

After all, the idea of MGM actually eyeing the 25-acre site on the northeast corner of 12th Street and Whipple Avenue NW sounds far-fetched, right?

For months, though, that jackpot of a rumor has spread faster than a kindergarten flu. The most persistent incarnation is the plaza will be purchased, then razed to make way for a casino — a scenario which is a legal impossibility (more on that later).

Word has spread through nearby Meyers Lake village, into the township, on social media and to other parts of Stark County.

"Unfortunately, it appears to be a rumor with no factual basis," said Meyers Lake Village Mayor Mike Labriola. "I have no idea who or why it was started; that is all I know."

Neither does Donal Bush, a member of a family trust that runs GDC Meyers Investment Co., the plaza owners.

"We're not selling the Meyers Lake shopping center," he said. "We do not have it listed for sale. We have never talked about selling it. We have never talked to MGM."

Same goes for Stacey Tsarnas Hackenberg. She's an Akron attorney whose parents, George and Georgia Tsarnas, are trustees of the family trust that bought the plaza in 1980. Hackenberg said the rumor has caused damage.

"What we do know is that these rumors have been very concerning for our tenants and have been disruptive to these large and small businesses," she wrote in an emailed statement. "GDC is actively seeking new businesses for the plaza and we encourage prospective retail tenants to reach out to us!"

MGM did not even acknowledge receipt of a request for comment for this story.

The anatomy of a rumor

The 65-year-old shopping center is anchored by Big Lots and Roses. It's also home to a host of smaller service businesses and retailers, such as Strasburg Meats.

Butcher shop owner Kevin Davis said his phone rings off the hook with questions created by the rumor mill.

"When are you closing?" they ask.

"Where are you moving?"

Earlier this month, he wrote on Facebook: "My personal fear is, the loss of business over a rumor ... We also had a customer tell us that they had to convince a family member that we were still open because they thought we had already closed, due to the false casino rumor. That is a terrifying thing to hear as a business owner and a community member, that a rumor can dictate business."

Davis said he has eight years left on his lease; he plans to eventually turn the business over to his kids.

The rumor has showed up on Facebook and nextdoor.com, a gathering place for neighbors in various communities. At one point, Davis said he tried to trace the rumor's origin.

He managed to gather bits and pieces: Last summer, a 'For Sale' sign was posted on property just north of the plaza; someone saw a vehicle with 'MGM' on it in the parking lot one day (a Repository search of state business records found 124 companies with 'MGM' in their name; most have nothing to do with gaming); several people told Davis they heard about it while at the plaza barbershop; finally the word-of-mouth chain made its way to social media.

"Once somebody gets something set in their mind ... predetermined; it's hard to change," Davis said.

Even if the facts don't fit.

You can't do that here

For starters, no one can build a casino in Stark County. Unless they get voters to change the Ohio Constitution. The document spells out the state's four casino locations as Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.

OK, but what about something smaller?

Say, a sportsbook?

There are 14 of those in the state. Two ― at Northfield Park in Summit County and at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati ― are BetMGM operations.

So, maybe that's it!

Again, nope.

By law, Stark County can have one such operation, based on its population of less than 400,000, said Jessica Franks, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

And that license happens to be in the hands of Hall of Fame Village. It's not in use yet, but it can't be sold or transferred. The Village would first have to voluntarily surrender it before it could even become available to another potential applicant.

Perhaps something else then?

Ohio does have what are called Type C sports gaming host licenses through the Ohio Lottery. But you wouldn't need to buy a shopping plaza to do that.

Roughly 900 bars, restaurants and stores in Ohio, including dozens in Stark, already have such licenses.

The phenomena of rumors has been studied by researchers, dating back to World War II. Although technology and social media can assist in their transmission, models for why rumors begin and how they are spread are age-old.

University of Washington researchers Emma S. Spiro and Kate Starbird noted some of that prior research in "Rumors Have Rules," a piece published for the spring 2023 quarterly edition of Issues in Science and Technology.

They and other researchers established certain features which they say are helpful in predicting if a rumor will go viral.

Among them, a rumor's high uncertainty, high significance or impact, its substantial novelty, high emotional valence, compelling evidence to support it, repetition or familiarity, and its high participatory potential in which spreaders can add to the rumor.

Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com.On X: @tbotosREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Meyers Lake Plaza not being bought by MGM for casino