Lawn signs at one house read “Casino Yes — Pro Jobs, Pro Tax Relief.” On the lawn across the street the signs declare “No Casino — Don’t Gamble With Gettysburg.”

Even though state gaming regulators are still months away from deciding whether the buzzers and lights of slot machines will liven up a hotel/conference center south of this famous Civil War town, it hasn’t kept a fracas over slots from going strong already.

This new battle involves the same two groups of combatants who clashed in 2006, when Civil War buffs, both local and national, opposed an effort by Battlefield Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealer David LeVan to get state approval to build a large, 5,000-slot casino a few miles northeast of the town center.

That proposal, which failed to get a state license, would have been near the busy intersection of Routes 30 and 15, and close to one of the battlefields of the historic July 1-3, 1863, conflict that turned the tide of the war against the South.

Now, Mr. LeVan is back, joining with Joseph Lashinger, an ex-state legislator and a former investor in the Harrah’s racetrack/casino south of Philadelphia, to create Mason-Dixon Resorts & Casino, which wants to add a smaller gambling parlor, with up to 600 slots, at the existing Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Center on Emmitsburg Road.

The hotel is just over three miles north of the Mason-Dixon line (the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland) and exactly five miles south of the traffic circle that marks the historic center of Gettysburg.

The casino would go in an existing 70,000-square-foot “expo center” on the hotel property, which is now used for indoor soccer, wrestling matches, billiards tables and video games.

The LeVan plan is once again backed by a group called Pro-Casino Adams County, which said the rural area around Gettysburg has lost jobs in recent years and needs the 900 jobs that a slots parlor — which now can have table games — would bring.

Just as in 2006, Mr. LeVan is being opposed by No Casino Gettysburg, led by a local preservationist, Susan Star Paddock, who made frequent trips to the state Capitol in Harrisburg four years ago to fight that casino proposal.

Although the Eisenhower hotel/conference center is 10 miles south of the site Mr. LeVan proposed in 2006, critics charge that it’s still too close to one of the southern Civil War battlefields and would sully the “hallowed ground” of Gettysburg.

Both sides are trying hard to mold the opinions of Adams County residents, and perhaps the views of the state Gaming Board, through a steady flow of news releases, polls and studies.

Casino opponents issued a statement last week “imploring” Mr. LeVan “to reconsider his plan to pursue Pennsylvania’s last remaining casino license and spare our community from the bitter divisions it suffered” in 2006.

Four years ago, “This controversy literally pitted neighbor against neighbor, damaging friendships and causing deep, persistent rifts,” Ms. Paddock said. “It was painful enough the first time and nobody wants to go through it again.”

There were 140 Adams County residents who signed the letter to Mr. LeVan to drop the casino idea, but Ms. Paddock added, “We know from our local petition signatures that there are hundreds more county residents concerned about divisions in our community who will want to sign the letter.”

A spokesman for Mason-Dixon, David LaTorre, disputed the claim that the casino would be unpopular in Adams County. He said the opponents are “a small minority” of the local population.

“No less than two separate polls have found that a majority of Adams County residents support it,” he said last week. The most recent poll showed “an overwhelming 62 percent” of county residents want the casino, he added.

Other tourism venues in the county, such as Gettysburg Tours, the Links at Gettysburg, Hall of Presidents & First Ladies, the Lincoln Train Museum and others, would like to see a casino added to the local tourist attractions, he said.

“This hardly sounds like a divisive project,” Mr. LaTorre said. “In fact, it is bringing together a community where unemployment is at its highest in a quarter century.”

The southern entrance to the 6,000-acre Gettysburg National Military Park is on Emmitsburg Road, 11/2 miles from the site of the proposed casino. The casino would also be a half-mile away from South Calvary Field, a section of the national park.

But park officials are steering clear of the controversy.

“The National Park Service is not taking a position on the casino proposal because it is outside the boundary of both the park and the [11,000-acre] Congressionally-designated battlefield historic district, which is larger than the park itself,” said spokeswoman Katie Lawhon.

Park Superintendent Bob Kirby told the Gettysburg Times that the casino “would have no direct impact on the park’s resources,” a statement that was welcomed by Pro-Casino Adams County. His comments should “quell all the nonsense about ‘proximity’ that [casino opponents] have tried to drum up without success,” said Jeff Klein, a casino supporter.

From the heat of the dispute, you might think that the Gaming Board was close to deciding which of four competing groups will get the state’s 14th and final casino license, and the second of two licenses to be awarded for resort hotel casinos. But a decision is still far off, said board spokesman Doug Harbach.

“It will take the board months to ensure that the applications are complete, have the Board of Investigations and Enforcement conduct thorough background investigations to gauge the suitability and hold public input hearings in the affected municipalities to gain citizen input,” he said.

Besides Mason-Dixon, groups competing for the second and final resort hotel casino license include Nemacolin Woodlands in Fayette County; a conference center near Reading in Berks County; and a resort in the Poconos. Nemacolin has scheduled a news conference Thursday to detail its proposal.

The only other resort/hotel casino in Pennsylvania will be at the Valley Forge Convention Center, west of Philadelphia, which already has been issued a state license and could open late this year.

Bureau Chief Tom Barnes or 717-787-4254

Copyright © 2010 – Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Reports:
Economic impact report for proposed casino

Mason Dixon Transportation Study

An open letter to David Levan regarding proposed casino

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Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington on Tuesday filed an application with the state Gaming Control Board for the license. The license, of which only one is available statewide, allows resorts to have up to 600 slots machines and 50 table games such as poker, blackjack, roulette and dice.

Two other resorts had filed applications for the same license, and a fourth has indicated its intentions to do the same before the open application period ends April 7.

The others that have filed are Bushkill Group, which wants to add slots to Fernwood Hotel and Resort in the Pocono Mountains, Monroe County, and Wyo Gaming, which is seeking a license for slots at the Crowne Plaza Reading Hotel in Wyomissing, Berks County.

A fourth application is expected to be filed before the deadline by an Adams County businessman, David LeVan, who earlier this month announced plans to open the Mason Dixon Resort & Casino in Cumberland Township.

Spokesmen for two of the resorts, Nemacolin and Mason Dixon, yesterday expressed confidence their applications will ultimately win approval.

Jeff Nobers of Nemacolin said the Farmington hotel has the edge because it is an established resort and has partnered with Isle of Capri to manage the casino.

“We are clearly the only one, if not in the letter of the law, certainly in the spirit of the law, that is a full-blown resort,” Nobers said. “We can be up quickly.”

A facility must be a “well-established Pennsylvania resort hotel with no fewer than 275 guest rooms under common ownership” to qualify for a resort gaming license, according to the Gaming Board. Other conditions include the availability of year-round amenities that include health spas, meeting and banquet facilities, golf courses, skiing and restaurants and entertainment facilities.

Isle of Capri, which owns and operates 14 casino properties in six states and the Bahamas, plans to open its Lady Luck Casino at Nemacolin at Route 40 and Smith School Road in Wharton. The location houses the resort’s Wild Side entertainment complex, which formerly was a Woodlands World outdoor store.

David La Torre of Mason Dixon said the Adams County location is more desirable because it won’t compete with existing casinos.

La Torre noted that Nemacolin is within easy driving distance of Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh and Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington County. Fernwood would compete with two other casinos in the Poconos, he said, and Wyo Gaming with Philadelphia-area casinos.

“Our casino would be in the only location that would not cannibalize other Pennsylvania casinos,” La Torre said. “We have the opportunity to tap into new markets in Maryland and Virginia, and in doing so, not compete with our own state casinos. That’s a win-win for everyone.”

The Mason Dixon casino would be located within two miles of the Maryland border, La Torre said. Plans are to open the 300-room resort and casino in the current Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center and Allstar Funland in Gettysburg, Cumberland Township.

Nobers said Nemacolin officials do not feel that they will compete with casinos in Pittsburgh or Washington County because 60 percent of its guests come from out of state. He said a casino at Nemacolin would attract visitors from Somerset and Cambria counties, who otherwise might not want to travel to Pittsburgh to gamble.

Officials with Fernwood and Wyo Gaming could not be reached yesterday for comment.

Once the April 7 deadline has passed, applications will be reviewed for completeness before the applicants are subjected to a background investigation, said Doug Harbach, a spokesman with the gaming board.

Public hearings would then be scheduled in the municipalities where the casinos are to be located, followed by a licensing hearing in Harrisburg.

The successful applicant will have to pay a one-time fee of $5 million for a slots-only license or $7.5 million for a slots license with a table games certificate. A slots-only license allows up to 500 slots machines. A slots license with a table games certificate allows for up to 600 slots machines and 50 table games, with the ability to add up to 15 additional table games for poker tournaments.

By Liz Zemba

Copyright © 2010 – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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Just after Nemacolin Woodlands resort in Fayette County filed its application for a resort casino license with the state today, David LaTorre, spokesman for a competitor, Mason-Dixon Resort and Casino, said that company won’t “rush its application simply so we can say we were first.”

Mr. LaTorre then added, “Our application will show why it’s in Pennsylvania’s best interest not to shoehorn another casino into Western pennsylvania.”

He was referring to the fact that Nemacolin is only about 60 miles from Pittsburgh, where the Rivers Casino operates, and The Meadows racetrack/casino is 25 miles south of pittsburgh. He noted there are also two West Virginia casinos not far from Pittsburgh.

The Mason-Dixon proposal, which would be in southern Adams County two miles from the maryland border, has been proposed by a Gettysburg motorcycle dealer, David LeVan. He previously was unsuccess in seeking a state license for a casino near the Gettysburg battlefield in 2006 and now he is trying for a smaller, resort casino in a convention center about five miles south of Gettysburg.

Two other competitors, a hotel near Reading and a hotel in the Poconos, also are vying for the state’s final resort hotel license.

In upcoming months, the state Gaming Control Board will hold hearings on each of the proposals and then render a decision.
Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tom Barnes can be reached at
tbarnes@post-gazette.com or 717-787-4254.

Read more: Post-Gazette

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But it has potential competition from at least three other parties, including the partnership of a Gettysburg businessman and a former state representative who want to convert a Cumberland Township, Adams County, hotel into a resort casino with 600 slots machines and 50 table games.

David LeVan and Joseph Lashinger have also announced their intention to apply for the license. But because lawmakers voted to give potential applicants a 90-day window, the application for Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino near Gettysburg will probably not be submitted until late March or early April. The clock started running a week ago.

There’s simply no need to rush, LeVan spokesman David La Torre said.

“Mason-Dixon won’t rush its application simply so we can say we were first,” La Torre said. “We’re going to be very thoughtful with our application and present a case that it’s in Pennsylvania’s best interest to prevent the placement of another casino in Western Pennsylvania.”

Nemacolin is about 40 miles south of Pittsburgh in an area that La Torre characterized as already “clustered” with casinos. He said LeVan and Lashinger intend to argue that Pennsylvania stands to gain much more by awarding a gaming license to their project, about five miles from downtown Gettysburg and two miles from the Maryland border.
La Torre said Nemacolin would further saturate the Western Pennsylvania casino market. The Rivers Casino and the Meadows Racetrack & Casino are about 25 miles apart near Pittsburgh, and two West Virginia casinos are within an hour of both, he said.

According to La Torre, the Rivers has performed below projections since opening in August.

Nemacolin was one of two original applicants for a Category 3 license in 2006 but dropped those plans because state gaming regulators wouldn’t relax rules restricting admission to customers and guests of the resort.

Since his first proposal in 2005-06, LeVan has argued that an Adams County casino could capitalize on the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., markets. That proposal failed to win the approval of the state Gaming Control Board, largely because of significant opposition to the site’s close proximity to the Gettysburg Battlefield.

LeVan and Lashinger also face competition from a hotel near Reading and another near the Poconos. Those applicants – the Reading Crowne Plaza Hotel in Wyomissing and the Fernwood Hotel & Resort in Bushkill – have already been deemed eligible by the Gaming Control Board, though the board has not yet deemed either suitable. Suitability is the last step in a process the board conducts on applications before it makes a licensing decision.

By Erin James

Copyright © 2010 – The York Daily Record

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