Mr. David LeVan, Owner
Battlefield Harley Davidson
21 Cavalry Field Road
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania  17325

Dear Mr. LeVan:

As citizens of Adams County, Pennsylvania, we are writing to respectfully request that you reconsider applying for a state license to place a casino in the Eisenhower Inn and All Star Complex on the Emmitsburg Road south of Gettysburg, just one-half mile from the boundary of the Gettysburg National Military Park.

We acknowledge the numerous good works you have done for the Gettysburg community, and we ask that you, in the same spirit of civic responsibility, change your mind.

In 2005 and 2006, a similar debate over the previous Gettysburg casino proposal tore Adams County apart.  Recently, former Borough Council president Dick Peterson called that controversy the “most divisive” event of his tenure.  Speaking to The Gettysburg Times, he said, “That split everyone asunder.  It wasn’t just the council that was split, the whole community was split on the issue.  That was something that I think we were all glad when it was over, and we all came out somewhat scarred with bandages.”

This new casino plan could be far more contentious, since this proposed location lies in a more rural part of the county, within the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area, along a recently established National Scenic Byway, and less than 3,000 feet from the National Military Park.

Although your new application is not due until April 7, already the same hostility has begun to permeate our everyday lives and impact our community’s many guests.

Please weigh the unintended consequences of reigniting this controversial issue, and the harm that will come to our community if you proceed with your proposal.  You have it in your power to help us heal once and for all, to emerge as a stronger community, ready to embrace the heritage tourism opportunities associated with the upcoming Civil War Sesquicentennial.

We, the undersigned residents of Adams County, therefore request that you stop your casino plans now.  You are the only person in the community that can prevent this divisive debate.  We ask, instead, that you consider creative alternatives that we could all embrace.

Very Respectfully

To Down Load the Letter:

To add your name to the letter, please email us at

(please include your full name and Adams County address).

Total Signatures:226

Julie Aha, Cashtown
Dr. William Aldrich, Gettysburg
Kurt Anschuetz, New Oxford
Pat Anschuetz, New Oxford
John M. Archer, Gettysburg
Darlene M. Archer, Gettysburg
Laura Arendt, Gettysburg
Catherine Bain, Gardners
Carol Ann Baran, Gettysburg
Gregory Baran, Gettysburg
Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Bishop, Gettysburg
Joseph E. Breighner, Gettysburg
Dale Brennan, Gettysburg
Scott Bucher, Biglerville
Frank Buck, Gettysburg
Loni Buck, Gettysburg
Troy Buck, Gettysburg
Irene Bunner, Hanover
Charles Caldwell, Gettysburg
Norma Calhoun, Gettysburg
Ellen Carter, Gettysburg
John Carter, Gettysburg
Judith Carr, Gettysburg
Nancy S. Chambers, Gettysburg
Jack W. Chambers, Gettysburg
Tim Christopher, Gettysburg
Craig Coffman, Gettysburg
Bill Collinge, Gettysburg
Susan Collinge, Gettysburg
Levon Crouse,Littlestown 
Leigh Ann Daugherty, Gettysburg
Carmella DeNoma, Ortanna
Emily DeNoma, Ortanna
John DeNoma, Ortanna
Ann Dentry, Gettysburg
Bruce Dietrick, Gettysburg
Dan Diviney, New Oxford
Teresa Donati, Gettysburg
Jeannine Duffy, Gettysburg
Angie Dull, Gettysburg
Sandra Edwards, Gettysburg
William Elliott, Jr., Ortanna
Charles F. Emmons, Gettysburg
Penelope Emmons, Gettysburg
David English, Gettysburg
Jane English, Gettysburg
Betty Evans, Fairfield
Anne Evans, Littlestown
Gil Evans, Littlestown
Gioconda Fazzolari, Gettysburg
Alan Ferranto, Gettysburg
Mary Furlong, McSherrystown
Evelyn Ganas, Gettysburg
Deborah Gemmell, Gettysburg
Jim Getty, Gettysburg
Don Gilbert, Fairfield
Phyllis Gilbert, Fairfield
Linda Gillitzer, Gettysburg
Joe Gillitzer, Gettysburg
Stanley Gish, Gettysburg
Marissa Gregorwich, York Springs
Paul Gregorwich, York Springs
Shaun Grenan, Gettysburg
Pat Groves, Gettysburg
Lou Hammann, Ortanna
Patricia Hammann, Ortanna
Ann Harner, Gettysburg
Harry E. Henderson, Gettysburg
Anne G Henderson, Gettysburg
Jay A Herman, Aspers
Donald Hinks, Gettysburg
Joan Hinks, Gettysburg
Deborah Hilling, Gettysburg
Pearl Hoffman, Gettysburg
Dianne Hoffman, Gettysburg
Terry Holahan, Gettysburg
Kendal Hopkins, Aspers
Dr. Richard R. Hoffman, Jr., Gettysburg
Bernard Huesken, Gettysburg
Bonita L. Isenberger, Gettysburg
Andy Jurcak, Gettysburg
Lucy Jurcak, Gettysburg
Paul Kallina, Gettysburg
Judith A. Kartoz, Gettysburg
Ed Krantz, Gettysburg
Margaret Lambert, New Oxford
Anne Bucher Lane, Gettysburg
Ben Lawrence, Gettysburg
Bernie Lawrence, Gettysburg
Renie Lawrence, Gettysburg
Galina Leonard, Gettysburg
Ann Long, Gettysburg
Samuel Long, Gettysburg
Donald Lowe, Gettysburg
Gillian Lowe, Gettysburg
Ed Luckenbaugh, Cashtown
Jack Lynch, Gettysburg
Jean Lynch, Gettysburg
Donald C. MacLean, Gettysburg
Joan L. MacLean, Gettysburg
Dona Maguire, East Berlin
Alan Mains, Gettysburg
Louise Mains, Gettysburg
Rebecca Makdad, Gettysburg
Laurence A. Marschall, Gettysburg
Niles Martin, Gettysburg
Scott McCabe, Gettysburg
Debra McCauslin, Gettysburg
Charles McElhose, Gettysburg
Sharon McElhose, Gettysburg
Ann McHale, Gettysburg
John McHale, Gettysburg
Elaine McKnight, Gettysburg
Donald McKnight, Gettysburg
Melody Messick, Gettysburg
Father Jim Miller, CPPS, Gettysburg
Lou Ann Milhimes, Gettysburg
Andrew Miner, Gettysburg
Mary Miner, Gettysburg
Nikki Mixell, Gettysburg
Dale Molina, Gettysburg
Alice Morrissey, Gettysburg
Paul Moschette, Gettysburg
Rick & Sheri Moyer, Abbottstown
Dennis Negley, Gettysburg
Joyce Negley, Gettysburg
Alan Olson, Carroll Valley
Cathy Olson, Carroll Valley
Alan Olson, Fairfield
Mary Oyler, Gettysburg
Susan Star Paddock, Gettysburg
James E. Paddock, Gettysburg
Gladys Parks, Gettysburg
John Paxson, Gettysburg
Alice Paxson, Gettysburg
Janice Peitrone, Gettysburg
Dick Peterson, Gettysburg
Pauline Peterson, Gettysburg
Lolly Odea Polvinale, Gettysburg
Janet M. Powers, Gettysburg
Gail Prezioso, Gettysburg
Sal Prezioso, Gettysburg
Carolyn Quadarella, Gettysburg
Ann Radcliff, Biglerville
Dick Radcliff, Biglerville
Jennifer M. Railing, Gettysburg
William F. Railing, Gettysburg
Richard Randall, Gettysburg
R. William Reaver, Gettysburg
Karen Rebmann, Gettysburg
Mary Redding, Gettysburg
Riley Redding, Gettysburg
Dorothy N. Reynolds, Gettysburg
David R. Rice, Gettysburg
Kristin Rice, Gettysburg
Muriel L. Rice, Gettysburg
Carole Richter, Gettysburg
Dr. Conrad Richter, Gettysburg
Ronald A. P. Rock, Gettysburg
Donna Rockey, Ortanna
Craig Rockey, Ortanna
Janet Rodgers, Abbottstown
Jack Rose, Gettysburg
Katherine Schneider, Gettysburg
Darrel Sensenig, Gettysburg
Ellie Sheen, Gettysburg
Dr. James Sheen, Gettysburg
Sharon E. Sheppard, Hanover
Peter H. Sheppard, Hanover
Barbara Shultz, Gettysburg
Jean Shultz, Gettysburg
Loring Shultz, Gettysburg
Steve Shultz, Gettysburg
Earl Shutt, Fairfield
Joyce Shutt, Fairfield
Dan Siderio, Gettysburg
Jean Siderio, Gettysburg
Cynthia M. Simpson, Fairfield
Pat Small, Gettysburg
Sam Small, Gettysburg
Wes Small, Gettysburg
Alicia Smith, Gettysburg
Marian Sneeringer, Gettysburg
Nancy Spurkeland, Gettysburg
Sonja Spurkeland, Gettysburg
Steven Stanley, Gettysburg
Barbara Steele, Littlestown
Roger Steele, Littlestown
Lisa Steinour,Gettysburg
Gary Sterner, Biglerville
Susan Sterner, Biglerville
Paul Sundholm, Gettysburg
Wendy Sundholm, Gettysburg
Jocelyn Swigger, Gettysburg
Charles, Swingler, Gettysburg
Gloria Swingler, Gettysburg
Chuck Teague, Gettysburg
J.S. Thomas, Gettysburg
Melanie Thomas, Gettysburg
Kerr Thompson, Gettysburg
Susan Thompson, Gettysburg
Geoffrey Thulin, Cashtown
Charlie Tipton, Gettysburg
Tem Tipton, Gettysburg
Dora L. Townsend, Gettysburg
Dr. Joseph Tripi, Gettysburg
Rosemarie Tripi, Gettysburg
Kyrstie Walker, Gettysburg
Dick Waybright, Gettysburg
John Wega, Gettysburg
Karen Welsh, Gettysburg
Keith Welsh, Gettysburg
Joyce Wentz, Gettysburg
Carol Widerman, Gettysburg
Marcia Wilson, Mount Pleasant Township
James Wolf, Littlestown
Marion Wolf, Littlestown
John Wolfe, Gettysburg
Peter Wolfe, Gettysburg
Homer Wood, Gettysburg
Gloria E. Yohe, Gettysburg
Buddy Zech, Gettysburg
Elizabeth Zech, Gettysburg
Gladys Zech, Gettysburg
Jeanne Zumbrum, New Oxford

The proposed Mason Dixon Resort & Casino in Cumberland Township formed new community partnerships Tuesday, while the group that opposes the gaming plan encouraged investors to “reconsider” the project.

No Casino Gettysburg Chairwoman Susan Star Paddock issued a press release, asking Gettysburg businessman and casino applicant David LeVan to refrain from filing a gaming application by the state’s mandated April 7 deadline.

Paddock claims to have garnered signatures from “140 Adams County residents” that oppose the casino, requesting LeVan — in a letter — to display “civic responsibility” and set aside his gaming proposal. LeVan has partnered with former state lawmaker Joseph Lashinger in an effort to convert the Cumberland Township-based Eisenhower Inn along Business 15, south of Gettysburg, into an exclusive slots resort.

LeVan announced a partnership Tuesday, with The Links at Gettysburg golf course and Ski Liberty Mountain Resort, in what’s dubbed the “Mason Dixon Pass” program, aimed to promote area tourism opportunities.

But Paddock noted the “community divisiveness” that LeVan’s plan has produced, since his Eisenhower Inn project surfaced in mid-November.

According to Paddock, her letter asks LeVan to “please weigh the unintended consequences of reigniting this controversial issue, and the harm that will come to our community if you proceed with your proposal.”

LeVan’s project is opposed by preservation groups, such as the Civil War Preservation Trust, which formed a coalition in January with the National Parks Conservation Association, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Preservation Pennsylvania in opposing the project.

“Locating and marketing a gambling facility at Gettysburg unavoidably conflicts with the essential meaning of this place in American history,” James Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Preservation Trust, said previously.

However, a recent survey by nationally-recognized pollster Dr. G. Terry Madonna revealed that, out of 600 Adams County residents polled, more than 60 percent support LeVan’s project.

Pa. Governor Edward G. Rendell has stated that he finds the Mason Dixon project “less objectionable” than LeVan’s 2005-06 proposal, which failed in Straban Township because of “overwhelming” opposition and revenue-generating issues. Rendell has noted that the Eisenhower Inn project is located closer to Maryland and farther away from the historic Civil War town than the Crossroads project, proposed at the intersection of Routes 15 & 30, east of Gettysburg. Also, Gettysburg Battlefield Supt. Bob Kirby has said that the project is not expected to have an impact on the park’s resources, even though the hotel is located just one half-mile from the park’s boundaries.

LeVan and Lashinger have formed community partnerships in the last week, most recently with The Links at Gettysburg golf course and Ski Liberty Mountain Resort in Carroll Valley. Investors unveiled the “Mason Dixon Pass” program Tuesday, which aims to “actively promote other area tourist destinations to guests of the resort,” according to spokesman David La Torre. The program’s “inaugural members” are Ski Liberty Mountain Resort and The Links at Gettysburg.

One week ago, Mason Dixon Resort teamed with Gettysburg Tours Inc. and President Kenneth J. Rohrbaugh to provide hotel and casino guests tours of the 6,000-acre battlefield. LeVan and La Torre have called Gettysburg Tours Inc. “one of the premier heritage tourism agencies” in the country.

By Scot Andrew Pitzer

Copyright © 2010 – Gettysburg Times

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More than 130 Adams County residents have sent a letter to casino investor David LeVan, asking him to abandon plans for a casino ½ mile from the Gettysburg Battlefield. In the letter, local residents express concern about the potential for the controversy to divide the Gettysburg community, as the previous casino proposal did four years ago.

If you are an Adams County resident, you can join your friends and neighbors who have already signed the open letter, asking Mr. LeVan to weigh the consequences of reigniting this controversial issue, and the harm that will come to our community if he proceeds with his Gettysburg Casino proposal.

To add your name to the letter, please email us at

letter@nocasinogettysburg.org

(please include your full name and Adams County address).

Thank you for consideration.

The Gettysburg businessman who failed in 2006 in his bid to build a casino in Straban Township, and whose second plan has been stalled since last summer, is trying yet again to bring slots – and possibly table games – to Adams County.

On Wednesday, LeVan said he and an anonymous business partner are poised to aggressively pursue a Category 3 “resort” gaming license, which would limit the number of slot machines to 500.

The site of LeVan’s newest proposal is the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center, which sits along Emmitsburg Road in Cumberland Township, about five miles from downtown Gettysburg.

LeVan – who owns Battlefield Harley-Davidson on Route 30 – said he and his business partner have secured an option to buy the 100-acre property that will expire “almost a full year from now.”

But, LeVan said, he will not purchase the property unless he can first secure a Category 3 license. What that means is that several events must unfold perfectly – and within a year – if LeVan is to be successful:

The state Legislature must amend gaming laws to either allow new applicants a chance to obtain the one Category 3 license that has yet to be awarded, or it must increase the total number of Category 3 licenses available.
The state Gaming Control Board would need to reopen the application process for at least one Category 3 license.

Board members would have to award that license to LeVan and his business partner before they would choose to buy the conference center

LeVan said he has been making the case to lawmakers that a gaming resort near Gettysburg and the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., markets would mean big bucks for the state.

It’s an argument LeVan has been making for years. He first attempted to bring gaming to Adams County in 2006. But his plan to build a standalone casino on an open field off Route 30 was rejected largely because of objections to the idea of a gambling facility so close to the Gettysburg battlefield, where thousands lost their lives in 1863.

Then, in July 2008, LeVan pursued the last Category 1 license, with which he could have also built a horse-racing track. But the state gaming board has yet to rule on the application of company that wants to build a casino near Pittsburgh. LeVan had said he would attempt to secure that license if the other group didn’t get it.

On Wednesday, LeVan declined to comment on the status of that proposal.

“At this point, I am totally focused on (the Category 3) project,” he said.

He also emphasized that the resort would simply move into an existing facility, unlike his 2006 attempt. LeVan thinks the conference center’s location – just under a mile from the southern boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park – would not interfere with the plans of battlefield visitors.

He’s even got a name picked out – the Mason-Dixon Resort – for the site, only about two miles from the Maryland border.

LeVan said he was not yet prepared to discuss many specifics, but he did say Adams County and Cumberland Township could each expect at least $1 million annually in tax money as a result of hosting the resort. He said the community could expect the project to produce about 200 new jobs, and current employees of the Eisenhower center would be retained.

By Erin James

Copyright © 2010 – Daily Record/Sunday News

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The township also unveiled legislation Tuesday night that would tax mechanical devices — like slots machines — $100 each on an annual basis.

Gettysburg businessman David LeVan and former state lawmaker Joseph Lashinger are applying for the state’s lone remaining casino license, to transform the Eisenhower Inn and All-Star Sports Complex into an exclusive slots resort: Mason Dixon Resort & Casino.

“We have to allow gaming somewhere in the township,” Board of Supervisors Chairman David P. Waybright said following a 40-minute meeting Tuesday night. “The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has determined that gaming is an allowable activity,” added Waybright.

LeVan and attorney Bernard A. Yannetti Jr. attended the meeting, but did not speak.

The Eisenhower Inn is located along Business 15 in Cumberland Township, two miles from the Maryland border, atop land that is zoned for mixed-use commercial development.

According to the proposed zoning change, a gaming facility would be allowable only in the township’s mixed-use district. A casino is currently not an allowable land-use within Cumberland Township, but state law must include language for every type of development.

Waybright explained that Mason Dixon Resort “requested the zoning change” within the past month. No project plans have been submitted.

Supervisors voted unanimously to advertise the zoning revisions, and scheduled a meeting March 2 to render a final decision. The meeting is being held at 7 p.m.

Also, the five-person board voted to advertise its proposed mechanical device ordinance, for adoption at its regularly scheduled Feb. 23 session.

“The township has been working on an ordinance concerning the mechanical device fees,” said Chairman Waybright. “I think we are ready to advertise this ordinance for adoption.”

If adopted, a levy would be imposed coin-operated machines of amusement, and the tax would be collected on a yearly basis. The tax rate is set as a percentage of the price to activate the machine, such as jukeboxes, pinball and video games, and pool tables.

“A lot of townships have it, but we don’t,” said new Supervisor Randy Phiel.

Board Vice Chairwoman Barbara Underwood explained that township administration will enforce the ordinance — opposed to police. The township lacks an ordinance allowing it to collect the tax, unlike the Borough of Gettysburg, which has an ordinance in place, but does not enforce it.

Slot machines fit the definition of a mechanical device, and each of the proposed 600 machines at the Mason Dixon Resort & Casino would be subject to the tax, adding $60,000 to the township’s coffers.

By Scot Andrew Pitzer

Copyright © 2010 – Gettysburg Times

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Those goods and services include everything from the facility’s plumbing to employee uniforms to the shampoo and soap that would furnish the bathrooms of 300 hotel suites.

LeVan and business partner Joseph Lashinger want to convert a Cumberland Township hotel into a resort casino featuring 600 slots machines and 50 table games. Since announcing their intention to compete for a Category 3 gaming license late last year, the business partners have gradually released more information about their plans for what is currently the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center on Emmitsburg Road.

The latest announcement came Monday about the business program, which they have dubbed “Buy Adams!”

The goal of the program is to buy as many products and utilize as many services as possible from businesses and vendors that reside in Adams County, said LeVan spokesman David La Torre.

“We believe that the vast majority of the businesses we need to contract with are located in Adams County. We want to make it clear that they are our priority,” La Torre said. “If you’ve got a business in Adams County, we are interested in working with you.”

Monday’s announcement, which came in the form of a news release, is meant to reinforce LeVan’s commitment to boosting the Adams County economy through the casino project, La Torre said. He said the investors want the community to know that local businesses will be given priority over others.
“We are putting it down in writing,” La Torre said.

La Torre said LeVan intends to take a “realistic approach” to hiring businesses. In some cases, a good or service may not be available in Adams County and would need to be sought elsewhere.

“If a service can be filled by an Adams County business, we want to hire that business,” La Torre said.

As for the hundreds of jobs LeVan has also pledged will be created by the casino project, La Torre said this: “Stay tuned.”

“We are going to go into greater detail about our philosophy on hiring, and we’re going to do that at a later date,” he said.

LeVan has vowed to create the “largest economic-development project in the history of Adams County.”

He and Lashinger have dubbed their project the Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino. They say it will create hundreds of needed jobs for local residents and support the Adams County tax base with millions of dollars.

The future of the project depends, however, on a decision of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. At least three other projects are competing for the last remaining resort casino license.

LeVan, who owns Battlefield Harley-Davidson on Route 30, had been a lead investor in another group that had tried in 2005-06 to bring gaming to Adams County. That attempt failed, however, largely due to the efforts of a grassroots citizens’ group that opposed the casino plan because of the site’s proximity to the Gettysburg battlefield.

That group, No Casino Gettysburg, was resurrected last year after LeVan announced his new project.

The head of the group, Susan Star Paddock, said Monday that she is both encouraged and discouraged by LeVan’s commitment to hiring local businesses.

While the Buy Adams! program is sure to help some local businesses, others will suffer if and when the casino begins operating, Paddock said. Paddock said she believes gamblers who might otherwise patronize Adams County restaurants and stores will instead spend their money at the resort casino.

Paddock also said she expects the casino to discourage some heritage tourists from visiting Gettysburg in the first place.

“It’s great that (LeVan) wants to use local people. That’s wonderful,” she said. “That in itself is not going to make up for the loss to Adams County.”

IF YOU GO

What: Public meeting hosted by No Casino Gettysburg to discuss a local businessman’s proposal to locate a resort casino in Cumberland Township south of Gettysburg. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.

When: 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18

Where: Gettysburg Fire Department, 35 N. Stratton St.

By Erin James

Copyright © 2010 – The Evening Sun

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Also, of the 273-person random sample, about 22 percent said they have “no opinion” on businessman David LeVan’s proposal to convert a Cumberland Township hotel into a resort casino with 600 slots machines and 50 table games. The survey, conducted by The Evening Sun this past week, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.97 percent.

Just over 14 percent of residents surveyed said they “strongly favor” the proposal, while nearly 28 percent said they “favor” it. Slightly more than 13 percent said they “oppose” the proposal, while almost 22 percent said they “strongly oppose” a casino.

Residents who had an opinion were also asked to cite their “single most important reason” for their opposition to or support for the project. Their responses were then assigned to categories and tallied.

Of those who favored the project, about 85 percent cited the potential for jobs, tax relief or other economic benefits. About 10 percent said they were most influenced by the entertainment opportunities of a casino.

Opponents’ reasons were more diverse. Close to 33 percent said they object to the proposed casino’s proximity to the battlefield and historic Gettysburg. Slightly more than 24 percent said they had a moral objection to gambling, and about 22 percent cited social concerns such as crime, addiction and the possible financial impact on families. Nearly 12 percent of those opposed said they believed a casino is a poor fit for the area.

Public opinion is a factor likely to influence the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board if and when it considers LeVan’s application for a Category 3 “resort” license. LeVan has not yet filed an application, but he and business partner Joseph Lashinger have vowed to do so before the April 7 deadline.

LeVan lost his first bid for a casino license in 2006 – partly due to the arguments of a grassroots opposition group that drew national support and attention to the issue. No Casino Gettysburg relied most heavily on the belief that a casino in Straban Township would desecrate the nearby battlefield – what they consider hallowed ground.

With that history in mind, LeVan spokesman David La Torre said Friday that the results of the survey are good news for the businessman’s resort-casino project.

“We believe and have believed all along that a large majority of Adams County residents support this project,” La Torre said. “This survey certainly backs that belief and hopefully will help us make our case to state regulators.”

La Torre called the results evidence that only a “small minority” oppose the project because of its proximity to the battlefield and historical town. The Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center, the project’s proposed site, is located less than a mile from the southern boundary of the battlefield and five miles from downtown Gettysburg.

“Obviously, there are going to be people who are against gaming on moral grounds. And we respect that,” La Torre said. “But the fact is gaming is now legal in Pennsylvania. If you set aside those respondents, and consider those who have no opinion, it is clear that there is a small minority who oppose this project due to the battlefield or other factors.”

Minority or not, the head of No Casino Gettysburg said Friday that she believes the opposition to LeVan’s proposal is still relevant and that the survey reveals a “significant divide” among residents on the issue.

Susan Star Paddock said she believes Adams County residents are reacting strongly to a LeVan-backed public- relations campaign that has focused all attention on potential benefits of a casino.

“I think that people are responding to the pro-casino data,” she said. “We had been waiting for more information on the application itself so that we could really study the details.”

In the coming weeks and months, No Casino Gettysburg intends to provide the other side of the story, she said. Paddock said the group will host a public meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18 at the Gettysburg Fire Department to do just that.

“People haven’t gotten the facts yet. LeVan’s people have been good at getting out their point of view,” she said. “We are gathering data now and trying to do some research and are hoping that by our meeting on Feb. 18, we can present some solid, local research.”

Asked about the effects of the recession on public opinion, Paddock said residents should be more worried about the potential for a casino to divert money away from other area businesses.

“I think that the economy scares people, and when people are scared they may tend to look for immediate gratification and kind of pie-in-the-sky solutions. This casino is definitely a pie-in-the-sky solution to individual, township, county and statewide economic problems,” she said.

To a group like Pro Casino Adams County, however, LeVan’s casino proposal could be the solution for a lot of local people – particularly those who are out of work. Adams County’s unemployment rate is at about 8 percent.

Group spokesman Tommy Gilbert said he was not surprised by the results of the survey.

“We at Pro Casino have often said that if they put it on a ballot that it would win hands-down. And this obviously shows that,” he said.

Gilbert also said he believes the number of those who oppose the casino proposal on moral grounds – about 24 percent of all opponents, according to the survey – further weakens the Gettysburg anti-casino movement.

Pro Casino Adams County was also active during LeVan’s 2005-06 bid for a casino license, but the group has been much more active this time around. Its leaders have said they want the Gaming Control Board to hear the project’s supporters as much as they heard its opponents in 2006.

After rejecting LeVan’s first proposal in December 2006, the gaming board released a 114-page opinion explaining its reasons. The board cited two main reasons for its decision.

One was the strong possibility that Maryland would soon legalize slots and therefore reduce the number of gamblers traveling to Pennsylvania.

The other was the intensity of the anti-casino movement, which extended across the country but originated in Adams County. Paddock successfully gained the attention of preservationists, educators, historians and many others connected to Gettysburg by focusing on the proposed casino’s close proximity to the battlefield. Gambling so close to hallowed ground would desecrate the memories of the men who died there, she and her supporters argued.

Statewide surveys conducted in 2005 and 2006 by Mason Dixon Polling and Research indicated more than 60 percent of Pennsylvanians opposed a casino near Gettysburg. Even Gov. Ed Rendell – a major proponent of gaming since its legalization in 2004 – had publicly stated his opposition to a casino near Gettysburg.

“I think the (gaming) board listened to the community,” Rendell said soon after the 2006 decision.

The 2004 slots law charged the gaming board with choosing “suitable” casinos. Public reaction and economic impact are among the factors the board is supposed to consider, along with financial viability, highway access, diversity goals and plans for handling compulsive gambling.

Arguments in 2005-06 were often characterized by doubts that regulations could adequately achieve those goals.

But, La Torre said, this new survey shows a public confidence in Pennsylvania casino operators and regulators.

“I think it shows that there is not as much interest and concern as there was in 2006 because people now have the facts about our state gaming industry,” La Torre said. “What they have seen is thousands of jobs created, millions of dollars for local economic-development projects and concerns for crime that have never been realized.”

By Erin James

Copyright © 2010 – The Evening Sun

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Borough officials say they have not been approached by local businessman David LeVan, who hopes to transform the Eisenhower Inn into an exclusive slots resort.

But it’s not just the money that concerns new Borough Council President John Butterfield.
“It will affect our infrastructure,” said Butterfield. “If people come here from Maryland, they’ll stay in town.”

LeVan and his business partner Joseph Lashinger have presented the project to the Adams County Commissioners and Cumberland Township Board of Supervisors, but Butterfield said that “they have made no overtures to us at all.”

Under a state gaming law formula that determines local government share, it would take $50 million in casino revenues to generate $1 million in tax revenue for the county and Cumberland Township.

The borough is not a part of that formula — at least for now — and LeVan spokesperson Dave LaTorre said he was unsure if the borough would be included in future discussions.

Fourteen-year Councilman Ted Streeter, the board’s former president, doesn’t envision casino revenues being offered to the cash-strapped borough this time around.

“It’s unlikely that any revenue-sharing agreement directly between the borough and the casino will materialize,” said Streeter.

Butterfield acknowledged that he “wouldn’t expect” Mason Dixon Resort to make a presentation to the borough, “unless out of the goodness of their hearts, they’d be willing to offset infrastructure and police costs.” The third-year board member was not on Borough Council during the Crossroad Gaming Resort public hearings and deliberations in 2005-06.
“I hope they do come to us at some point and tell us what sort of impact it would have on the community,” he said.
Streeter recalled the failed Crossroads Gaming Resort project, which literally split the nine-member board in 2005-06.

The project was proposed for the intersection of U.S. 15 and Route 30, about two miles from borough boundaries. But to gain support from Borough Council, LeVan guaranteed $1 million in annual gaming revenue from the slots parlor, which would have represented one-fourth of the town’s $4 million budget. Later, after a revenue-sharing agreement was crafted between the borough, county and Straban Township, the borough would have received up to $2.5 million in the first year of operation from the casino, with the figure escalating on a yearly basis. Streeter noted that only 50 percent of the town’s properties are taxable, so the borough struggles to balance its budget every year.

At the time, Streeter testified in favor of the project before the state’s Gaming Control Board, noting that the nine-member board voted 6-3, and later 5-4, in favor of the project. But the Gaming Control Board rejected the proposal in 2006, citing opposition to the project.

“I must confess that, as I presided over the casino hearings, I couldn’t quite understand the perspective of the ‘cons’,” said Streeter. “Their argument that a casino would bring organized crime, prostitution, pawn shops, gin mills and other nefarious activities into the area didn’t seem valid to me.”

The Mason Dixon project is proposed for land along Business 15 in southern Adams County. Still, Butterfield said he’d like to see visitation projections, including winter and summer estimates and overnight stays.

“There is a little bit of…I wouldn’t say concern, but interest as to what this would do to the borough,” Butterfield said Tuesday morning on 1320 WGET.

“Of course, we’d have to make infrastructure improvements, or at least consider our infrastructure if we got a significant number of people,” said Butterfield, noting that the Mason Dixon project is “certainly not a done deal.”

“These are peripheral things that we’d like to hear about at some point,” he concluded.

LeVan has secured an option to purchase the Eisenhower Inn, which is located atop land that is already home to commercial and recreational development. As part of the State Legislature’s table game law, the Gaming Control board has reopened the gaming application process. LeVan, who owns Battlefield Harley Davidson near Gettysburg, plans to file an application by the April deadline. There is one Category III license available for a “slots resort,” which are issued to existing hotels

By Scot Andrew Pitzer

Copyright © 2010 – Gettysburg Times

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