Decision Coming On Resort Casino

Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board could make two key decisions at its monthly meeting next week.
The board is nearing a decision on whether to grant a resort casino license to one of four applicants, including a group who wants to build a gaming hotel near the Gettysburg battlefield.
Opponents of a Gettysburg casino are ramping up their effort, releasing a new slate of ads featuring high-profile historians like Ken Burns.

"I think it all begins at Gettysburg. And I think the placing of a casino approximate to this battlefield is profane. We are responsible stewards of this land."

Board spokesman Doug Harbach explains the factors members will weigh.

"It has to do with revenue projections. It has to do with job creation. Support of the community. It has to do with factors dealing with the location of it in the commonwealth. So the board’s looking at all those things."

In addition to Gettysburg, the 3 other applicants for the resort casino license are Nemacolin Woodlands in Fayette County, outside Harrisburg and in the Poconos.
One “no” vote could stop any of the four applications, since the four board members appointed by legislative leaders effectively have veto power over a licensing decision. Resort casinos are limited to 600 slot machines and 50 table games.

When it meets on the 16th, the Board will likely decide whether or not to pull the plug on Philadelphia’s financially troubled Foxwoods casino proposal, which was awarded a license in 2006, but has yet to get off the ground.