on Monday he would rule out one of them.

“If I were choosing I wouldn’t put one close to a battlefield but that’s not my call,” Rendell said. He was referring to the proposed Mason-Dixon Resort and Casino near Gettysburg, about a mile from the Gettysburg National Military Park.

He volunteered his comment during a news conference on an unrelated topic. It struck some as odd given that Rendell’s former law firm, Ballard Spahr, is representing Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Fayette County, another of the locations vying for the resort casino license.

David LaTorre, a spokesman for Mason-Dixon, called Rendell’s comment disappointing, given its timing and the fact that it was unsolicited and in response to a question about whether the recently revoked license for a free-standing casino should be limited to a location in Philadelphia.

“He chooses to insert himself into the process, despite the fact our project is supported by the large majority of Adams County residents, the chamber of commerce and over 200 local businesses,” LaTorre said. “One wonders if the governor publicly objected to a casino license that was granted to a project in Valley Forge, which shares a boundary with the famous national park just outside of Philadelphia.

As was pointed out in a Patriot-News story in November, Ballard-Spahr also represented the Valley Forge Convention Center in its successful quest for a resort casino license for a facility situated no more than a football’s throw away from the Valley Forge National Military Park.

Doug Harbach, a spokesman for the gaming control board, said the board will make its decision based on the evidence presented at hearings and that record closed in November. So the governor's remark would not weigh into the board’s decision, he said.

This post was updated from an earlier version.

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEfghESwDaeXZ6xdo3QSavKcSgtpQ&url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/01/pa_gov_ed_rendell_pooh-poohs_c.html

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