York County could be home to Pennsylvania's first "mini-casino" - a new classification of casino that lawmakers hope will generate $200 million annually in tax revenue. Chris Dunn, York Daily Record
Possible locations of new mini-casino in York County(Photo: York Daily Record)
Local broadcast media and this newspaper are reporting Penn National Gaming has agreed to pay just over $50 million and has been awarded the first of several licenses to operate a “mini-casino” outside of their main location in Grantville.
York County and specifically the borough of Yoe appears to have been initially selected as the location of such a “mini-casino,” however, the borough has opted-out and several other municipalities have done likewise, saying they wouldn’t welcome a casino in their community.
More: Odds are, York County will be home to Pa.'s first mini-casino, featuring slots, table games
In the next few months, Penn National will be looking at finding a location within a 15-mile radius of Yoe who would welcome the business, jobs and tax revenue a “mini-casino” would generate for the municipality and the county.
Not knowing what position Springettsbury or West Manchester Townships might be taking, each may have potential sites available. In Springettsbury, there may be a way to reconfigure a portion of the York Galleria, which like many malls has fallen on hard times. In West Manchester, I believe there is a vacant supermarket which lies just off Route 30 and sits next to the West Manchester Town Center. And, of course, the Kinsley family could offer to construct a facility on various tracts of land they own in several municipalities.
I believe there may have been some opposition to Penn National Gaming opening their “Off-Track-Betting” facility in Manchester Township. Now that many years have passed, you don’t hear a word, OTB is just another of many businesses located along the corridor.
Due to its proximity to Grantville, Dauphin County is out of the running. For once, York County wouldn’t be losing out to Lancaster Co. In selecting a site, Penn-National Gaming will need to prepare their plans around the numerous stipulations of any municipality.
Our county is growing and needs to look to the future. No one will be forced to patronize the “mini-casino,” but we can’t afford to pass up on what could benefit many county residents.
Tom Keasey lives in York Township.
Read or Share this story: https://www.ydr.com/story/opinion/columnists/2018/01/11/mini-casino-would-good-york-county-column/1025753001/
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