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

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On Wednesday, the south-central Pennsylvania office of the Regional Economic Development District Initiatives (REDDI) lent its support to Gettysburg businessman David LeVan’s latest casino proposal.

That’s significant because Gettysburg Borough has been trying for a decade to develop its own REDDI project in a blighted section of town. Blame for the delay has been attributed mostly to the economy.

But, according to Wednesday’s press release, regional REDDI officials seem to think LeVan’s proposal could provide the “economic boost” Gettysburg so desperately needs.

“The proposed Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino can provide a real economic boost for a county in our region that is struggling more so than others during this difficult recession,” REDDI President Russ Montgomery said. “We have seen improvements to the local economies that host gaming in Pennsylvania, and jobs are being created for local residents. This is a real opportunity that can boost Adams County at a time when unemployment is above 8 percent.”

The press release goes on to note that millions of dollars have been invested in municipalities that host Pennsylvania casinos. Locally, that municipality would be Cumberland Township. The site, currently the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center, is located about five miles from downtown Gettysburg.

Montgomery also noted the potential for job creation and infrastructure improvements.

On the other hand, a local citizens’ group of “progressive activists” announced its members’ collective objection earlier this week to LeVan’s proposal. Members of Gettysburg Area Democracy for America voted to oppose LeVan’s plan to obtain a Category 3 gaming license and convert the hotel into a casino with 600 slots machines and 50 table games.

In its press release, the group expresses concern about gambling addiction and “the lure of a casino to those with limited resources.”

Controversy is certainly nothing new to the Gettysburg businessman. In 2005-06, LeVan proposed another Adams County casino project that was ultimately derailed by significant national and local opposition to the site’s proximity to the Gettysburg Battlefield.

No Casino Gettysburg, which formed in 2005 to oppose LeVan’s first proposal, is active again. So is Pro Casino Adams County, which also formed several years ago.

In response to the DFA, LeVan spokesman David La Torre said Wednesday that gambling addiction is a legitimate concern that both LeVan and the Gaming Control Board take seriously. Like other gaming facilities, the Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino would provide help to problem gamblers, as required by the state, La Torre said.

“Their statement is what’s great about America. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion,” La Torre said. “But I’m not sure how people in Adams County, who are suffering with unemployment now over 8 percent, would receive that message.”

As for REDDI’s endorsement, La Torre said the time is “long overdue” for economic-development officials to back gaming.

“Economic-development agencies, like REDDI, should embrace gaming because it’s allowing municipalities to do projects during one of the worst recessions in American history and not (raise) taxes to do them,” La Torre said. “I think an endorsement of this nature is long overdue. I would be disappointed if it was the last.”

By Erin James

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