A report commissioned by Mason Dixon Resort officials estimates a casino proposed for Adams County would invest $66 million into the local economy each year, generate as much as $37 million in annual state tax revenues and create 375 full-time jobs.

The report was compiled by Econsult Corporation, a Philadelphia-based consulting company that has developed impact reports for other state casinos, including the Valley Forge Convention Center and Foxwoods Casino, as well as casinos in Kansas City and Iowa.

“We wanted a study from a company that is familiar to the state Gaming Control Board and whose reputation is beyond reproach,” said David La Torre, a spokesperson for Mason Dixon Resort and Casino. “Our report has to be accurate. That’s why we brought in Econsult.”

But Keith Miller, a former business consultant for Strategic Planning Associates and a member of No Casino Gettysburg, argued the report’s projections are one-sided.

“Most impact reports show at least some of the negatives, but here you only have the positives,” Miller said. “Sure, it shows the casino in a good light but half the scale is missing.”

Contacted later, La Torre countered, saying, “It’s one-sided because there aren’t two sides to this. It’s hard to find negatives when you’re going to create hundreds of jobs and provide millions in local tax relief.”

La Torre said the report will be submitted to the Gaming Control Board on the April 7 deadline to apply for the state’s last remaining Category 3 gaming license. The casino is proposed by Gettysburg businessman David LeVan, who hopes to convert the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center — located south of the Gettysburg battlefield on Emmitsburg Road — to a gaming resort with 600 slot machines and 50 table games.

Of the $66 million projected to come to Adams County each year, $51 million is estimated to come from increased hotel operations and $15 million from visitor spending. In addition to the 375 full-time jobs projected, the report estimates 326 more will indirectly be created from the existence of the casino and 195 positions will be added from visitor spending. La Torre said these jobs would include such businesses as glass, stone, and cement manufacturers that would benefit from the construction of the casino.

Likewise, the report estimates 93,000 overnight visitors will come to the casino each year and 49,600 guests will stay in hotels surrounding the casino. But Miller said he didn’t think these projections were accurate.

“If you’re going to come to the casino and gamble then you’re not driving down the road at the end of the night to get to your hotel,” he said.

The report estimates as much as $16 million in employee wages will be earned each year and the casino would add $3 million in local taxes and $37 million in state tax money. During a meeting with small-business owners earlier this year, LeVan promised to give preference to Adams County residents when hiring for the casino and to local vendors when buying products for the casino.

By Tim Prudente

Copyright © 2010 – York Daily Record

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David LeVan’s promise to give preference to Adams County businesses and residents if he’s granted a gaming resort license might make good political sense locally at a time of economic uncertainty.

It also might improve his chances with the state Gaming Control Board, which will decide if he gets a license to open a casino south of the Gettysburg battlefield.

Richard McGarvey, a spokesperson for the board, said casinos are encouraged to hire and buy locally.

In fact, McGarvey said, such plans help a casino’s chance of being approved for a license.

“Just about every casino in the state includes a similar preference,” he said.

LeVan hopes to convert the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center, located south of the Gettysburg battlefield on Emmitsburg Road, to a gaming resort with 600 slot machines and 50 table games. He said he will apply for the state’s last remaining Category 3 gaming license on April 7.

“If I’m successful in the pursuit of my opportunities, it will create opportunities for others,” said LeVan during a meeting with small-business owners.

And although there are similarities between what LeVan is offering and what other Pennsylvania casinos have promised their communities, there may be differences as well.

Praise of local preferences

Presidents of chambers of commerce in Washington County, Bethlehem and King of Prussia all praised the effect casinos have had upon local businesses.

“There has been an overwhelming majority of people hired from the Cumberland-Lehigh Valley region,” said Lynn Logue, the director of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce. “The casino has been real good about following through on what they said about hiring local.”
Al Paschall, Montgomery County chamber director, agreed.

Although the Valley Forge Convention Center casino in King of Prussia hasn’t opened yet, “They’ve been very good in using our members first,” Paschall said.

And when the Meadows Racetrack and Casino opened in April 2009, Jeff Kotula saw the benefits to Washington County.

“I have to say in the broadest overall sense we’ve seen nothing but a positive impact,” said Kotula, the president of the county’s chamber. “With the casino here, there’s a spotlight on Washington County as a place to visit and our businesses have taken advantage of that.”

Still, opponents to the Mason Dixon Resort aren’t convinced.

“The chambers of commerce do a very good job of painting a perfect picture of their communities,” said Susan Star Paddock, the head of No Casino Gettysburg.

Because the local casino would be part of a “gaming resort” limited to patrons, Paddock said area restaurants and bars would suffer. Customers would be required to spend $10 at one of the casino’s amenities before they were permitted to gamble. It’s a cost visitors of the Meadows Casino in Washington County don’t have to pay.

“Casino visitors would eat there so they can get that ticket to play,” she said, “and that’s money that would otherwise go to our businesses.”

There are currently no operating Category 3 gaming resorts in the state. The Valley Forge Convention Center has received such a license but they have yet to open.

Opponents of the Mason Dixon Resort have also said the casino would have a negative impact on Gettysburg’s heritage tourism industry.

“Our 150-year heritage tourism industry is endangered,” wrote Paddock in a response to a survey done by casino officials that found 62 percent of Adams County residents surveyed were in favor of the project. “Heritage tourists are different from recreational tourists and are repulsed by casinos, especially if located only one-half mile from the border of the national park.”

But Mike Madell, the superintendent of Vicksburg National Military Park, said the opening of the Horizons Casino Hotel didn’t cause Civil War tourism to decrease.

“The numbers have dropped off but I wouldn’t tie that to any individual circumstance,” Madell said. “I wouldn’t say the casino has had a negative impact on the park.”

Local preferences legal

Although federal law prohibits giving preference to local vendors where government funds are involved, private businesses such as the proposed Mason Dixon Resort and Casino appear to be free of such regulation, according to legal experts.

Gettysburg businessman David LeVan, who is seeking a license to open a casino resort on Emmitsburg Road south of the Gettysburg battlefield, has said he would give preference to local vendors, all other considerations being equal.

“If it’s equal quality and equal price, Adams County breaks all ties,” said LeVan to a group of small business owners during the Shop Local, Buy Local meeting held to discuss the economic impact the casino would bring.

Benjamin Bratman, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, said he doesn’t believe LeVan’s “Buy Adams” plan is subject to the stringent regulation of state and federally funded projects.

“While the state is limited in passing certain laws that would give preference to local contractors, a private employer isn’t regulated the same way,” said Bratman.

Michael Hayes, a labor-law professor at the University of Baltimore, agreed.

“Private businesses can hire whoever they want.” he said.

By Tim Prudente

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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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