Penn National is looking to operate a casino near the famed Gettysburg battlefield, and for the past several months, veterans groups have been voicing
The Mason Dixon Resort & Casino would be created by renovating the 300 room Eisenhower Hotel. Local businessman David LeVan and former Penn National administrator Joseph Lashinger submitted the application for the casino resort, and it is among four applications being considered by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
At stake for Gettysburg is the creation of hundreds of jobs, and thousands of dollars in tax revenue. The employment opportunities outweigh all of the negative aspects of the casino project, according to veterans for Mason Dixon Spokesman Richard Kitner, a retired Sgt. First Class.
"We. as a voice united representing soldiers of all of America's conflicts, state that so long as the resort or gaming facility is not on or immediately adjacent to any recognized place of final repose, there is no justification for denying that facility," said Kitner, who proceeded to say. "It's (Mason Dixon Casino Resort site) nowhere near hallowed ground."
The final decision lies in the hands of state gaming regulators, and they are doing their due diligence before announcing their decision. The Gaming Board is expected to choose one of the four finalists for the casino license by the end of the year. Hearings on the issue will be held in mid-November.
Those hearings will likely be heated like the hearings that have already taken place on the Gettysburg casino issue. Opponents of the casino claim that the former battleground is not the place for a gaming facility. Kitner and casino proponents have argued that the casino resort would not interfere with remembering the battles that took place in Gettysburg.
Pennsylvania has become a popular destination for gamblers all along the East Coast in recent years. Table games were added to existing Pennsylvania casinos back in July, and that has caused another spike in gaming revenue in the state.
October 19, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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