The Foxborough Effect: Holyoke Says NO!

"Lashinger said he was surprised that Morse's only question was whether the group could develop a casino elsewhere, after Lashinger had first said that Hard Rock had other options but believed Holyoke was the best choice."




Casino executives plot courses for Western Massachusetts, following meetings with municipal leaders in Holyoke and Springfield
By Dan Ring, The Republican

A casino plan is slowly advancing in Springfield, but a similar proposal for Holyoke could be in trouble, following separate meetings in both communities with municipal leaders and casino executives who want to build in the cities.

During a meeting on Monday, Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse said he let a top executive for Hard Rock International, a giant entertainment company, know that he is opposed to a casino for Holyoke. Hard Rock and a local development group want to build a gambling resort on the 100-acre Wyckoff Country Club off Interstate 91 in Holyoke.

In Springfield, a proposed casino received a better reception. Kevin E. Kennedy, the chief development officer for the city, said he is working with other city officials on a plan to assure that Springfield gets the best deal from any possible casino operator. Kennedy and other city officials met for the first time last week with leaders of a Nevada company proposing a gambling resort on Page Boulevard in the city.

In Holyoke, Morse, who was sworn into office Jan. 3, and other leaders in his administration met for about 45 minutes on Monday with James F. Allen, CEO of gaming operations for Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida; Anthony L. Cignoli, a partner in Paper City Development, which is a local development group teamed up with Allen, and Joseph Lashinger Jr., a former Pennsylvania state lawmaker and managing partner in the local group.

Morse said he listened to their presentation and let them know he was opposed. Morse said Allen and the others didn't tell him anything that he didn't already know.

Morse said the meeting was straightforward and that he is staying true to his anti-casino platform during his campaign. Morse said he will soon spell out his position on casinos in a letter that will be made public and will be applicable to anyone interested in a casino for Holyoke.

"As I said throughout the campaign, I do not want a casino in the city of Holyoke," said Morse, who said he wants to build the city's economy around technology, innovation, the arts, a revitalized downtown and a high-performance computing center now under construction.

Morse said a casino proposal can't move forward in Holyoke without the support of his administration and the City Council.

Cignoli and Lashinger said they didn't think they heard anything definitive from Morse about the future of the proposed Holyoke casino, which they said would create about 2,000 permanent jobs and 2,000 construction jobs. [The jobs figures are overstated and differ from previous figures offered.]

Lashinger said he was surprised that Morse's only question was whether the group could develop a casino elsewhere, after Lashinger had first said that Hard Rock had other options but believed Holyoke was the best choice.

Lashinger said the planned $500 million to $600 million casino resort is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Holyoke. The project is a "win-win" that would create tourism, jobs and revenues for city government, he said. "I don't know how you can take a pass other than the emotionalism of anti-casino," he said.

Last Thursday in Springfield, Kennedy said he and other city officials, including City Solicitor Edward M. Pikula and Lee C. Erdmann, chief administration and finance officer for Springfield, met with a couple of leaders of Ameristar Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas.


Kevin Kennedy
Kennedy said city officials were obligated to listen to Ameristar, but it's difficult to plan because the rules and regulations for siting a casino still need to be approved and released by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, a regulatory agency created in a new casino law.

Kennedy said a group of city officials will begin putting together a document that could serve as a general agreement with any possible casino company that wants to locate in the city and could lay out possible benefits for Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the City Council to help them decide on casinos. Kennedy said the document could be a starting point for negotiations with any casino developer in Springfield, not just Ameristar. Kennedy said the city may need to hire expert advice to help in the process.

Under a new state law that legalized casinos, developers need to sign comprehensive deals with officials of communities where they want to locate and then place the details before the community's voters for an up or down vote.

The law authorizes up to three casino resorts in the state including one for anywhere in the four counties of Western Massachusetts.

An agreement could include road or other infrastructure improvements, taxes, fees, guarantees for local jobs and local vendors, assurances to help existing venues such as Symphony Hall, City Stage and the Mass Mutual Center and other provisions.

Kennedy said there will be "a community-wide discussion" on a possible casino for Springfield.

"This has to be good for the community," Kennedy said. "Otherwise, the community won't vote for it."

Kennedy said it's possible another casino company could make a proposal for Springfield, though Ameristar is offering the only formal proposal at this point. He said he would work with casino companies in drafting an agreement.

"We anticipate having to negotiate a host community agreement," Kennedy said. "We have to get it in place."

Troy A. Stremming, senior vice president of government relations for Ameristar, said the meeting last week went well and served as "a great introduction" for the company.

Ameristar should close this month on the purchase of 41 acres off Page Boulevard and Interstate 291 for a casino resort, he said. Ameristar plans to pay $16 million for the land of the former Westinghouse plant.

Stremming said he would encourage the city to work on a host agreement that could apply to any casino applicant.

Stremming said Ameristar plans to establish a local office in Springfield and hire an employee to represent the company in the city. The company aired its plans during a meeting on Dec. 6 in Springfield attended by about 500 people.

Holyoke Loses 'Respectability'

The Lashinger Group certainly has more experience and required less investment than Herb Strather, the original backer of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, yet the similarities are interesting.

After supporting the free-spending Tribe through its recognition process, when Strather's funding ran out he sought local investors to create the missing image of respectability for the project.

In contrast, the Lashinger Group originated with the local image of respectability that is vanishing.

For additional history:

Mashpee Wampanoag casino deal sours

Herb Strather Defaults on Detroit's St. Regis Hotel Project

Casino investor Strather has criminal past

The Red Man is getting ripped off by the White Man again

Towns feel effect of Conn. casinos

Selling fast, selling short on gambling

From South African Farm To U.S. Entrepreneurship: 2 Hardworking Brothers Put Their Indelible Mark On The Transformation Of Downtown Hartford

Starwood Capital Group

Abramoff scandal may derail Wampanoag casino



Holyoke Paper City Development casino plan no longer includes David Bartley, Martin Dunn
Mike Plaisance, The Republican

HOLYOKE – Two prominent residents have parted ways with Paper City Development, the group that wants to put a casino resort at Wyckoff Country Club.

David M. Bartley, former president of Holyoke Community College and former speaker of the state House of Representatives, said Tuesday that former Holyoke mayor Martin J. Dunn and himself no longer are involved with Paper City Development.

“We just had a professional disagreement,” Bartley said.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick and legislative leaders have said discussions about whether to legalize casino gambling will resume after Labor Day.

Paper City Development is a limited liability company whose officials say they want to build a $450 million gaming resort with 1,500 jobs at Wyckoff.

Paper City Development includes manager Joseph A. Lashinger Jr., of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., a lawyer with casino experience; media consultant Anthony L. Cignoli, of Springfield; and former Springfield City Councilor Anthony W. Ravosa, who now lives in Connecticut.

Wyckoff owner Diane L. Wojtowicz, of Holyoke, has said a casino would fit the vision that her late husband Clarky Wojtowicz had for the site.

In another casino plan for Western Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun has been pitching since 2007 its plan for a $600 million gaming complex in Palmer across from Massachusetts Turnpike Exit 8.

Gettysburg: Even when they're not wanted, they never give up!

There's a Massachusetts/Holyoke connection:


Casino applicant appeals
Appeal filed in Pa. Surpreme Court

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER
Times Staff Writer Gettysburg Times

Gettysburg casino investors announced Monday that they are appealing a decision to award a gaming license to a competing project.

The appeal is filed with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and disputes the recently-awarded Category Three resort casino license, to the Nemacolin Resort in Fayette County.

Mason Dixon Resort & Casino spokesman David La Torre wrote in a press release that state gambling regulators “misapplied the Gaming Act and state law, deprived Mason Dixon of its due process rights, and disregarded or failed to consider the evidence presented” when they chose the Nemacolin Resort for the license, over the Eisenhower Inn in Cumberland Township.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board selected the Nemacolin Resort in Fayette County for the license in mid-April, over three competitors, including the Mason Dixon Resort Group, led by Gettysburg businessman David LeVan and Florida lawyer Joseph Lashinger. The vote was 6-1, with one board member supporting a competing project in the Poconos.

Investors in Mechanicsburg, Penn Harris Gaming, and the Bushkill Group in the Poconos also applied for the license, which permits up to 600 slot machines and 50 table games at “well-established” hotel resorts.

Based on previous gaming appeals, it could take a year before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules on the litigation. As a result, developers will not be able to break ground on the $75 million Nemacolin Resort until the legal battle is resolved.

Monday was the final day to file an appeal on the April 14 decision, and subsequent written adjudication, explaining the decision. Representatives from Penn Harris Gaming and the Bushkill Group have said that they are not filing an appeal.

Gaming Control Board spokesman Richard McGarvey explained that all of the standalone Category Two casino projects have been appealed in the past, as well as the other resort casino Category Three license, that was awarded to Valley Forge. No horsetrack casinos (Category One licenses) have been appealed.

The Gaming Control Board wrote that it selected the 2,000-acre Nemacolin Resort because it was the “best fit” for the license, and that it had the best potential to generate and maximize new revenues for the state.

LeVan and Lashinger proposed converting the 300-room Eisenhower Inn and adjoining All-Star Sports Complex along Emmitsburg Road south of Gettysburg into a $75 million resort casino. The Category Three resort casino license permits up to 600 slot machines and 50 table games, and patrons must be guests of the resort, or obtain a membership.

Opposition was cited for a reason for denying the Cumberland Township casino. No Casino Gettysburg spokeswoman Susan Star Paddock said Monday that she was saddened to see Gettysburg casino investors “chasing their losses.” She called the appeal a “colossal waste of time and money for the investors, the state, the taxpayers and our entire community.”

Casino supporters in Adams County have touted economic benefits and new jobs, and remain hopeful that a license will be awarded here.

Two weeks ago, Mason Dixon Resort filed a “motion of reconsideration” with the Gaming Control Board, asking gambling regulators to revisit the licensing process. But the request was denied one day later, leading to Monday’s appeal.

Questionable Practices Continue at PA Gaming Board

Gaming Control Board gives Gettysburg casino company fodder for appeal
By DONALD GILLILAND, The Patriot-News


It’s summertime, and the fishing is easy at Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board.

The developers behind a proposed casino outside Gettysburg asked the board on Tuesday to reconsider, in light of the recent grand jury report, their decision to award the state’s last resort casino license to another facility.

On Wednesday the board unanimously rejected that request, which surprised no one — including the people who asked.

Rather, the request offered the opportunity — like a well-cast fly — for board members to go on the record one more time about their decision.

There is little more than a week remaining for the unsuccessful casino projects to appeal their loss to the Supreme Court.

New Gaming Board member and former Speaker of the House Keith McCall rose to the bait. “I made my decision first and foremost,” said McCall, “on did they meet the definition of a well-established resort.”

The Gettysburg developers — and many others, including former Gaming Board members — have argued the law requires the primary consideration to be maximizing the revenue to the state for tax relief.

The grand jury report contends previous incarnations of the board “neglected or wholly ignored” the public policy objectives of the law.

Noting that he had a hand in writing the law, McCall said Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Fayette County fit the definition of resort “like a glove, and none of the other applicants came close.”

Both advocates and critics of the Nemacolin project have maintained the law was written with Nemacolin in mind.

The grand jury report criticized the Board’s habit of going into secret executive sessions to discuss things beyond the normally limited scope of such sessions.

The board did that with Nemacolin, and only Nemacolin.

McCall continued. “I was very concerned by the Mason-Dixon application,” he said, “because of concerns raised by the community and the battlefield.”

The board’s own legal rationale stated unequivocally that the casino would not have impacted the battlefield.

The official reasoning did however cite community opposition, specifically a casino-sponsored survey by G. Terry Madonna that showed 38 percent of Adams County residents were opposed to a casino.

That, according to the official reasoning, was “an unacceptably large portion of local residents.”

However, Madonna had submitted a memo into the official record noting that “Surveys in Pennsylvania have consistently shown that 20-25 percent of Pennsylvanians oppose gaming because they believe it is morally wrong. Additionally, it is not unusual to find that one-third oppose legalized gambling in the state.”

The grand jury report suggested the Gaming Board and its investigators do not adequately evaluate applications, and attorneys for Mason-Dixon implied there may have been similar failings in the most recent decision.

Mason-Dixon attorney Stephen Schrier told the board, “You don’t have to get new evidence; you have to go back and look at the evidence you have.”

The board’s official decision also cites a quantity of comments in opposition to the Gettysburg projects that its proponents say indicates the board accepted anonymous, unverified and multiple submissions, suggesting the board has no standard.

“What this means is in the future, it will only require a mediocre Astroturf campaign to defeat one of the applicants because that’s what happened here,” said Mason-Dixon spokesman David LaTorre.

Whether McCall’s additions to the record are trophy trout or chum would ultimately be judged by the Supreme Court, if an appeal is filed.

LaTorre said an appeal is “absolutely” under consideration.

Wednesday was the Board’s first public meeting since the grand jury report was released.

Despite the fact the report focused on actions five or six years ago and the fact the law has since been changed to address some of the concerns it outlines, the Gaming Board members did little to inspire confidence they are operating in a new, more accountable era.

Kenneth Trujillo, one of three lawyers on the board and the only member not to vote for Nemacolin, grilled the Mason-Dixon attorney with prosecutorial verve, suggesting the grand jury report was old news, one-sided and of “zero evidentiary value.”

Having read the grand jury report, Trujillo said, “My conscience is quite clear nobody is pointing fingers at me.”

He may not have read it to the end.

Fifth on the list of the grand jury’s recommendations is the suggestion the law be amended “to explicitly prohibit any person from serving as a member of the board who was an applicant” for a slot machine license.

Trujillo was one of the investors who applied — unsuccessfully — in 2006 for a license to build a casino in Philadelphia.

By Overwhelming Margins, Pennsylvania Voters Oppose Gettysburg Casino Proposal

There is an uncomfortable connection between Holyoke, MA and the proposed Gettysburg monstrosity - the backer, Joseph A. Lashinger Jr., just another wealthy slot barn vulture, content to suck discretionary income from the local economy from a distance and destroy communities to which he has no commitment.

Accepting the false statements and fantasies doesn't conceal what the facts prove --

Solid data show that when casinos come to heritage tourism towns, visitation to the historic resource plummets as it did in Vicksburg, Miss., where 40 percent of the historic downtown is now shuttered.

Beacon Hill hasn't noticed, but Faneuil Hall attracts more visitors than Disney World, yet the KoolAid consumers would convince you that a Slot Barn would attract tourists.


By Overwhelming Margins, Pennsylvania Voters Oppose Gettysburg Casino Proposal
New poll finds that two-thirds of Pennsylvanians oppose plans for a casino just one-half mile from America's most famous battleground GETTYSBURG, Pa.
PRNewswire-USNewswire

On the eve of the sesquicentennial commemoration of the American Civil War, a public opinion poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research reveals that Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly oppose plans for a casino 1/2 mile from the historic Gettysburg Battlefield. According to the poll, fully two-thirds of Pennsylvania voters actively oppose the idea of a casino at Gettysburg and nearly 60 percent favor pending legislation that would block future attempts at similar proposals. Further, 57 percent state that, if approved, such a Gettysburg casino would be an embarrassment to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The poll illustrates that resistance to a Gettysburg casino is strong in all regions of the state, although most pronounced in Central and Western Pennsylvania, where nearly 74 percent of all voters expressed opposition. Statewide, just 17 percent of Pennsylvanians indicated they support the idea.

Contrary to the claims of casino proponents, a separate, specific sampling of Adams County voters illustrates that the community is deeply divided on the issue, with 45 percent opposing the casino and only 41 percent supporting it. Opposition, however, is based on proximity to the battlefield rather than hostility toward gaming; were the chosen location further from the battlefield and national park, stated opposition falls to 35 percent of county voters.

Investors with Mason-Dixon Gaming, a company unrelated to the nationally recognized polling firm, are seeking a license on April 14, 2011 from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to operate a Category 3 resort casino. If approved, their project would bring hundreds of slot machines and table games just 1/2 mile from the boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park.

Since it was announced last year, the proposal has drawn immense opposition. Tens of thousands of Americans signed petitions against the project and nearly 300 prominent historians wrote to the gaming board, urging its rejection, as did the national leadership of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and the American Legion.

Rep. Paul Clymer (R-Bucks County), a member of the Pennsylvania Gaming Oversight Committee, last month introduced House Bill 1179, which would amend the state's Gaming Act to create a 10-mile buffer around Gettysburg national Military Park. Upon introduction, the legislation had gathered 23 bipartisan cosponsors from districts across the state. According to the poll, 59 percent of Pennsylvanians and 64 percent of central Pennsylvania voters expressed support for the bill.

The independent poll was commissioned by the Civil War Trust, an historic land preservation group, which also opposed a similar, unsuccessful proposal to bring gambling to Gettysburg in 2006. Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, well known as one of the most credible and accurate independent polling firms in the nation, conducted the poll from April 4–6, 2011. For the statewide sampling, a total of 625 registered voters were interviewed by telephone, with an additional sample of 400 registered voters in Adams County. The margin of error is +/- 4 percentage points on statewide questions and +/- 5 percentage points for Adams County.

The Civil War Trust is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its mission is to preserve our nation's endangered Civil War battlefields and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism. To date, the Trust has preserved more than 30,000 acres of battlefield land in 20 states, including 800 acres at Gettysburg. Learn more at www.civilwar.org.

SOURCE Civil War Trust

Another Flawed Argument: Tourism

Faneuil Hall attracts more visitors than Disney World, yet the KoolAid consumers would convince you that a Slot Barn would attract tourists.

It requires a willingness to accept facts, lacking among too many so-called leaders to present the truth --


Solid data show that when casinos come to heritage tourism towns, visitation to the historic resource plummets as it did in Vicksburg, Miss., where 40 percent of the historic downtown is now shuttered.

The developers of the Gettysburg Slot Barn have the curious distinction of salivating for a Holyoke location.



Gettysburg casino plan fails on many levels

BY SUSAN STAR PADDOCK

Gettysburg casino promoters are doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Their attempts were rejected by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in 2006, by the Harness Racing Commission in 2007 and 2008, and should be denied this time.

Mason-Dixon’s shocking location sparks the most controversy, but it also has a weak business plan, will damage Gettysburg’s economy and is legally ineligible for a resort casino license.

Mason-Dixon has targeted Cumberland Twp., which surrounds the borough of Gettysburg and is home to most of Gettysburg National Military Park. In 2005, the investors tried to locate one mile from GNMP’s boundary, creating overwhelming opposition. Now they are closer in the Eisenhower Inn, a half-mile from the political boundary of the GNMP.

The Eisenhower does not meet the state’s legal requirement that the Category III license be awarded to a “well-established resort ... having substantial year-round recreational guest amenities.” This license requires gamblers to be hotel guests or buy at least $10 of a resort’s amenities. Seeing little to offer at the Eisenhower, and a plan showing no revenue for resort amenities, the board questioned whether Mason-Dixon wants to circumvent the legislation to create a “mini Class II casino.”

Even Penn National, Mason-Dixon’s own operating partner, feels no loyalty to the plan. Its vice president testified that another applicant would bring more revenue to the state and added that Mason-Dixon’s proposal for 50 table games was “unrealistic.” Mason-Dixon projects that its table games will earn 80 percent more than the state average.

In 2006, the board said there was no “credible evidence” a Gettysburg casino could compete for gamblers and that’s still true. Surrounded by large casinos an hour away, Mason-Dixon is forecasting a locals’ casino with 87 percent of the revenues from rural day-trippers. Investors predict that 30 percent of Adams County adults will lose $1,200 a year. As one board member said, these inflated numbers “don’t add up.”

Mason-Dixon says it’ll produce more battlefield tourists, a claim greeted with skepticism by the board and contradicted by its own data showing little traffic going from the casino to other attractions. A casino is unlike any other business in that it redefines the area it occupies as a casino town. Solid data show that when casinos come to heritage tourism towns, visitation to the historic resource plummets as it did in Vicksburg, Miss., where 40 percent of the historic downtown is now shuttered.

Heritage tourists have been the backbone of Gettysburg’s economy for 147 years. Studies show these customers differ from recreational tourists because they travel for meaning, learning and authenticity and avoid places marred by incompatible development. Casino proponents argue that these customers are being unreasonable to object to a casino near the GNMP, but vacation choices are based on feelings. Heritage tourist avoidance would cost Adams County hundreds of jobs, so while the casino would hire, dozens of mom-and-pop restaurants and tourist shops would be hurt. Because Gettysburg is an anchor for PA tourism, the negative economic impact would extend statewide.

Even unlicensed, this proposal and its predecessors have made locals less trusting and more contentious. The wounds of casino-related skirmishes in community groups were barely healing when this new proposal was uncovered. The Legislature could prevent this with a buffer zone incorporating more of the actual battlefield.

Gettysburg has a long history of exploitive development approved and later removed because of local and national opposition. Since investors’ plans were discovered by a Patriot-News reporter, the board has received more than 41,000 opposition petitions and a deluge of correspondence.

Locally, it’s opposed by the faculty of Gettysburg College and 16 community groups ranging from the Adams County Medical Association to the Adams County Farm Bureau. Statewide, Gov. Rendell, Gov.-elect Corbett, Sen. Casey and Congressman Platts have joined four Pennsylvania newspapers in opposing it.

Nationally, dissent is voiced by the US News and World Report, seven of the most-respected preservation and veterans groups, 275 top historians and 8,870-plus Facebook members. No Casino Gettysburg’s volunteers, inspired by Gettysburg itself, include Ken Burns, David McCullough, Susan Eisenhower and others appearing in our filmed PGCB testimony.

Though their reasons for opposing the project are many, most agree that a casino a half-mile from the boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park would forever change the meaning of this place by exploiting these now silent killing fields.

The Battle of Gettysburg left 51,000 American casualties in three days, and in the most memorized speech in the world, President Lincoln asked us to “never forget what they did here.” It was a fight over principles, and the Gettysburg Address forever defined our nation as a union free of slavery. The state should never diminish the context of this monument to national sacrifice or change the identity of Gettysburg. The board should just say no casino Gettysburg.

SUSAN STAR PADDOCK is chair of No Casino Gettysburg.

The Holyoke Gettysburg Connection

The Casino Vulture salivating to suck discretionary income from the poorest community in the Commonwealth, Holyoke, has steadfastly embraced Gettysburg.

This is never for altruistic reasons, but enriching the already wealthy. That's why they target the poorest among us.

Gettysburg Casino Debate Continues;
Gaming Control Board Sets Hearings
By Kathryn Jorgensen
(November 2010 Civil War News)

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will hold hearings Nov. 16 and 17 in Harrisburg on the four applications for the state’s last Category 3 license to operate a casino at a resort hotel.

According to the board the purpose is “to hear directly from the applicants on their eligibility…, suitability to gain licensure, and why their project is better than the other applicants.”

Applicants will be questioned “about their character, operational and financial suitability, diversity plans, community impact, plans for the prevention of compulsive gaming and other issues.”

The applicants are:

Mason-Dixon Resorts LP, to be located at the Eisenhower Hotel, Conference Center and Resort in Cumberland Township, Adams County;

Woodlands Fayette LLC, to be located at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Wharton Township, Fayette County;

Penn Harris Gaming LP, to be located at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg West, Hampden Township, Cumberland County (next to Adams County); and

Bushkill Group Inc., to be located at the Fernwood Hotel and Resort, Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County.

More information is at www.pgcb.state.pa.us. The last day for people to send their opinions to the board was Oct. 31.

- - -

Gov. Ed Rendell made news during a call-in show on the Pennsylvania Cable Network Sept. 16 when he opposed the Gettysburg casino.

Caller Dan Siderio, a longtime opponent of casinos in Gettysburg, reminded Rendell that the governor had opposed the 2006 proposed casino because it was too close to a historic site. He asked the governor’s position on the current proposal for a casino at the Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Center on Emmitsburg Road.

Rendell replied: “Well, I’m still opposed to it. David LeVan, who is the main proponent of this, is a good friend of mine and was a big contributor to my campaign, and I love David. But I just think that it’s the wrong place for a casino.”

Rendell noted that he does not have a vote on the matter. Oct. 31 was the last day for people to give their views to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that will issue the gaming license.

A video of Rendell’s remarks and the congratulatory letter he received from the coalition of preservation groups that oppose the casino can be viewed at the Civil War Preservation Trust site, www.civilwar.org.

- - -

Ed Bearss led a Sept. 21 press conference at the State Capitol to announce formation of Veterans for Gettysburg, a group opposed to the casino, of which Bearss is co-chairman. They released a letter to the Gaming Control Board from veterans (posted at www.ipetitions.com/petition/veteransforgettysburg).

Bearss said, “When I answered the call to serve my country in World War II, I felt a kinship with all those soldiers who had come before me. I believe I am duty-bound to honor the legacy of their service.”

Appearing with Bearss were American Legion Executive Director Peter Gaytan and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund President Jan Scruggs. Gaytan said, “We need to be sensitive to the fact that this is a hallowed ground resting place for our brothers-in-arms and protect it from such inappropriate development.”

A month earlier when national commander Clarence E. Hill condemned the casino local Legion members were furious, their commander saying they weren’t consulted, they were neutral and Hill didn’t know what he was talking about.

- - -

Fox News ran an admittedly unscientific poll in August when it covered the casino debate, including the American Legion commander’s statement and the preservation coalition’s economic impact report. The results of 2,690 votes was 195, or 7.25 percent, supporting the casino and 2,495 opposed.

- - -

Two casino opponents looked at economics and infrastructure.

Keith Miller, a Connecticut member of No Casino Gettysburg, who has represented the group in debates and at a meeting with the governor, noted the long history of greed in Gettysburg, going back to the trolley line through Devil’s Den and including the National Tower to other developments.

“The proposed casino will extract more for state gambling taxes and investor profits than it leaves in low skill, low wage, high turnover jobs,” he said. “The investors get rich, the community gets poorer, and the nation’s past is polluted.”

His analysis shows the casino would be patronized by locals and existing visitors who will redirect their spending from existing businesses, causing job loss as people redirect their spending from prior patterns, like dinner at the Lincoln Diner, to the casino buffet and slots.

“Social costs from gambling addictions created by this local casino will be devastating for many local families and employers,” Miller warned.

Craig Caba, a former president of the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association, whose officers supported the casino — he voted against — sent the state board his analysis of transportation and roads relevant to the Gettysburg and Hampden Township casino proposals.

Caba noted that the Hampden Township site “has direct and modern well-developed roads and bridges, linking all directions of the compass.”

It is easily reached by the population 70 miles away and is within 20 miles of Carlisle, Harrisburg and Hershey, a large population with a diverse and stable economy served by public transportation.

The Gettysburg site is on Old Route 15, the Emmitsburg Road, which is designated a National Heritage Area along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway that runs from Gettysburg to Charlottesville, Va.

Caba noted the road is two lanes wide with historical markers on both sides. He noted safety concerns as well as costs of road and traffic improvements and possible legal challenges.

The site does not have east-west access or a beltway connecting other highways, Caba noted, and Old Route 15 runs through Gettysburg National Military Park and the town, which has severe traffic congestion. New Route 15 is intersected by 32 roads between Gettysburg and Frederick, Md., and more to Harrisburg, all creating traffic and safety concerns.

He questioned, “How can the lack of connecting highways linking populous and prosperous areas of all Central Pennsylvania be resolved for Adams County when the infrastructure does not exist and it has rural population numbers?”

Adding Manure in Holyoke

Lashinger, the Casino Vulture salivating to suck discretionary income from the poorest community in the Commonwealth said:

He envisions a Holyoke casino with


1,500 full-time jobs

Even that's overstated, but somewhat more honest.

Former Holyoke Mayor Marty Dunn is representing the group working to bring a resort casino to the Wycoff Country Club off Interstate 91.

Add a little manure, a vested interest and what do you get?

He says 15 years ago he was opposed to casino gambling in Massachusetts, but now says he can't pass up the 3,000 jobs it could potentially bring to the Pioneer Valley.

Lashinger and Penn National: Greed trumps Respect

The Casino Vultures salivating to prey on Holyoke would also hope to desecrate Gettysburg to confirm that greed trumps respect and common sense.

If those Casino Vultures would so easily insult the national character for self-enrichment, what hope Holyoke?


Veterans Unite to Prevent a Casino at Gettysburg

Veterans are again riding to the sound of the guns—to prevent the sound of slot machines echoing across the battlefield at Gettysburg.

For months, historians, preservationists and others have been fighting the proposed construction of a gambling casino near the hallowed ground where the largest battle of the Civil War was fought and President Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most memorable speeches in America’s history. Author and journalist John A. Farrell added his voice in a U.S. News & World Reports opinion piece.

Now a group of American veterans has formed to join the fight against the Gettysburg casino. See the media release below from the Civil War Preservation Trust. The president of the CWPT, James Lighthizer, is a member of Armchair General’s advisory board.

A similar attempt to build a casino at Gettysburg was defeated in 2005.

Click here to watch a video in which Ken Burns, David McCullough, Sam Watterson, Matthew Broderick, Medal of Honor recipient Paul W. Bucha and others make appeals to prevent the casino from being built at Gettysburg.

To view a map showing the proposed location of the Gettysburg casino, click here.

MEDIA RELEASE
(Harrisburg, Pa.) – At a press conference September 21st in the rotunda of the Pennsylvania capital, leading American veterans opposed to a proposal to build a casino near some of America’s most hallowed ground announced the formation of Veterans for Gettysburg. James Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), issued the following statement in support of the new effort:

“Gettysburg holds a special place in the hearts of all Americans, but it is particularly dear to those who have felt the heat of battle. The call to military service is a tie that stretches across the generations and makes all of our nation’s veterans truly one ‘band of brothers.’

“The soldiers who fought our Civil War — the veterans who helped establish the Gettysburg Battlefield as we know it today, erecting profound monuments to their fallen comrades and returning time and again to reflect on the meaning of that hallowed ground — are no longer with us, leaving it to our generation to remember their sacrifices and, when necessary, speak on their behalf. And who better to take up the standard of respect and decency in their name but those who also know what it means to serve their country in uniform.

“Today in Harrisburg, some of our country’s leading former servicemen joined together under the banner of Veterans for Gettysburg and announced an open letter from America’s veterans to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. In asking that this inappropriate proposal be rejected, they write: ‘As you would honor our service, we ask that you remember theirs.’

“I commend these brave men and women for answering the call to defend Gettysburg, just as they answered the call to protect their nation. Further, I encourage all members of the Civil War Preservation Trust and all those who respect America’s past who served in the armed services to join the effort. Military veterans — regardless of era or branch of service — are

invited to sign the open letter by visiting www.ipetitions.com/petition/veteransforgettysburg."

With 55,000 members, CWPT is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its mission is to preserve our nation’s remaining Civil War battlefields and to promote appreciation of these hallowed grounds through education and heritage tourism. Since 1987, the organization has helped save more than 29,000 acres of battlefield land in 20 states, including 700 at Gettysburg. The CWPT website is located at www.civilwar.org.



Don’t Build a Casino at Gettysburg
By John Aloysius Farrell

Filmmaker Ken Burns, author David McCullough, and actors Sam Waterston and Matthew Broderick joined Medal of Honor recipient Paul Bucha in a 10-minute protest film that was played by Gettysburg preservationists this morning, as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board opened hearings on whether the state should grant a license for a casino at the historic Civil War battlefield.

Hundreds of individuals and dozens of community groups waiting to speak were treated to the cinematic presentation by Susan Star Paddock, the chair of the grassroots group, No Casino Gettysburg.

"People wonder how a small-town nonprofit could persuade celebrities to appear free," she said. "These … individuals were simply asked. It is Gettysburg itself, and the reverence America feels for this hallowed ground that persuaded them to join our cause."

It is the second attempt for local developer David LeVan, whose initial venture was defeated by a coalition of activists in 2006. He wants to run his gambling resort at the site of the current Eisenhower Inn, a few hundred yards from Gettysburg National Military Park. (Which is misleading, since battlefield boundaries are drawn very narrowly, and generally don't include all the sites of encampments, field hospitals, and fighting.) The American Legion calls the idea "a national disgrace," and it is opposed by hundreds of historians, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and my pals at the Civil War Preservation Trust, who alerted me to the controversy.

Surely, even in these tough economic times, Pennsylvania will recognize that glitzy commercial development on the battlefield's borders can spoil the character of the town and the battleground which, in its carefully preserved condition, lures thousands of tourists to Gettysburg. Do the people of south central Pennsylvania want to kill the goose that lays golden eggs? For a few hundred busboy, waitress, and croupier jobs?

And though I'm sure that the soldiers who fought and died at Gettysburg knew their way around a deck of cards, I cannot imagine, after seeing their comrades slaughtered in the Wheat Field, or charging up Cemetery Ridge, that they'd want the neon and clang, and the legalized thievery of a casino, on the grounds on which they marched and fought and died that day.

Build it in Harrisburg. Or York.

Here's a report that well worth reading --

Comparative Analysis of Mason-Dixon’s Local Impact Report
Posted on 08 May 2010 by getty

Mason-Dixon’s Local Impact Report [LIR] proves their proposed casino is a “locals” casino that will take more from Adams County than it returns. This is a significant change from Crossroads’ 2006 proposal. In that proposal, Crossroads claimed that Adams would provide 17% of the casino’s revenue – 6% from residents and 11% from existing overnight hotel guests. At the time, we debated Crossroad’s projection for Adams as too low.

Say no to Gettysburg casino

Say no to Gettysburg casino


We have nothing against gambling, per se.
Except, well, the obvious things.

Too many people become addicted to it.

Too many of those addicts are people who can ill afford to lose what little money they have.

Even among people who might not be addicted to gambling, many are low-income folks who probably should spend their money on wiser things than "gaming."

Recent stories have not painted a pretty picture of the whole "gaming" culture.


State lawmakers recently proposed legislation outlawing leaving kids under 13 alone in a car - prompted, they said, by recent reports of children being left alone in casino parking lots while their parents "gamed." Parenting is not a game (though that legislation does seem a bit extreme).

Closer to home, a York woman created a stir among readers when she wrote a letter to the editor thanking a good Samaritan for returning her food stamp card that she lost at the Hollywood Casino. She later said she gambled only about $5, but that did little to temper taxpayer outrage.

Speaking of taxes, the slots parlors haven't exactly eliminated property taxes in Pennsylvania - though admittedly that was a million-to-one long shot that no one ever promised.

A recent special editorial noted the case of a former York Police officer trying to get into the ARD program to wipe away a record for stealing more than $25,000 from the police evidence room to support a gambling addiction.
We could go on.

So yes, "gaming" has some baggage - a trunk full of social ills.

That said, we're not so naive as to think that people are going to stop gambling because it can be bad for them and their family.

It's been going on for millennia - and no doubt will continue until doomsday.

The proper role for the state is to regulate and tax the activity to make sure it gives something back to the community.

And so, the state allowed a number of slots parlors that are now morphing into casinos - and the state is considering proposals for new casino sites.

So be it.

But please not in Gettysburg, just a short hike from the site of one of the most bloody battles ever waged on American soil.

As many respected historians have argued, it's just not an appropriate place for a casino.

David LeVan, the Gettysburg businessman behind the proposal, is a good guy who has done a lot for his community. But we must respectfully oppose his proposal.

Yes, the casino would bring jobs - and that's tempting in this dreadful economy. Many in Adams County support the proposal on that rationale alone - and that's understandable.

But considering all the bad things that come with gambling, it's just not worth it.

And we must look at the wider picture - the grand scope of history. Gettysburg holds a pivotal place in this nation. It is, arguably, the place where America was saved. It is hallowed ground. That's the message. Let's not mix it.

What a shame it would be to tarnish that, turning it into a "gaming" destination, for the sake of a few jobs.

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.