Hold on, Holyoke!

The Casino Vulture proposing to desecrate one of the most important historical places in American History, Gettysburg, is Joseph A. Lashinger Jr.

Also, the most recent Casino Vulture to join the Massachusetts fray is Joseph A. Lashinger Jr. proposing to erect his personal ATM Machine in Holyoke to suck available discretionary income from the local economy and further enrich himself.

HOLYOKE - In Gettysburg, Pa., these days, critics rage that Joseph A. Lashinger Jr. risks trampling on sacred ground with a plan to put a casino near the site of 51,000 Civil War casualties.

Lashinger is former president of another casino, a $435-million venue now known as Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack in Chester, Pa. [A SLOT BARN!]

He is also a former executive with Penn National Gaming Inc. , which has gambling facilities in 14 states and Canada and employs 16,000 people. [Beacon Hill is foolishly promising 15,000 JOBS in the Commonwealth alone? Do you believe them?]


Mason-Dixon Resorts & Casino, of which Lashinger is a main partner, wants to put a casino with 600 slot machines and table games in the existing Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Center in Gettysburg.

Susan Star Paddock, of Gettysburg, said the casino would be only a half-mile from the national military park that commemorates the Civil War battle.

"That is offensive to people when you consider that Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War. It's the reason this nation is a union free of slavery, and it cost this nation dearly," said Paddock. She is a member of No Casino Gettysburg, just one of the groups opposing the Pennsylvania plan.

If Lashinger can push for gambling houses to crowd one of America's sacred battle fields, she said, Holyoke should guard its interests when he comes calling. "We'd suggest that your community look closely and ask plenty of questions of Joe Lashinger," she said.

Among the major figures and historians fighting the Gettysburg casino plan are James McPherson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era" and professor emeritus at Princeton University. Building a casino close to the battleground "would be an insult to the men who died there," McPherson told the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette.


The revolving door of politics and Gambling:

Lashinger has made a career in the casino business. His years as a Pennsylvania legislator led to connections in gaming, and, "I've been a long survivor of the business. There aren't a lot of us around," he said.

From 1996 to 1997, he was a vice president, general counsel and a consultant with Penn National Gaming.

He envisions a Holyoke casino with

1,500 full-time jobs

with benefits, not counting the construction jobs required to build the project and seasonal jobs at the facility, Lashinger said. [Although his job estimates are still high, he's more realistic than Beacon Hill.]


A group called Citizens Against a Holyoke Casino released a statement on July 18 - the day the Sunday Republican and MassLive.com published a story about Paper City Development - saying a casino will be a magnet for increased crime.

You got that right! When your web site is up and running, the link will be posted!

Please help Gettysburg and sign petition:

Say 'No' to Casino Development at Gettysburg

Link to full page: http://www.preservationnation.org/take-action/advocacy-center/national-action-alerts/say-no-to-casino-development-at-gettysburg.html

Summary:

A Pa. developer has submitted a proposal for a resort-style facility one-half mile away from the historic Gettysburg battlefield.