Post by MattC on Nov 17, 2010 9:47:12 GMT -5
I'm surprised I haven't seen this up here. I love it. I love that they held a press conference at the Mississippi Monument about the casino. Had to drive the Nazis against the Casino Gettysburg crazy when they found this out. I also love how the mayor of Vicksburg came up and basically called NCG liars or idiots. Of course, they'll say he was bought and paid for by Mason Dixon, but claims like that are the last desperate arguments of a losing side.
www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/article_b313a24e-f143-11df-a4b8-001cc4c002e0.html
Posted: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 12:35 am
BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Times Staff Writer | 4 comments
The mayor of Vicksburg, Miss. touted the positive impacts that gaming has had in his Civil War community Monday afternoon, in a special visit to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Mayor Paul Winfield, 37, visited town one day before final suitability hearings are scheduled in Harrisburg on the proposed Mason Dixon Resort & Casino in Cumberland Township.
“Don’t be afraid of progress,” Vicksburg Mayor Paul Winfield told a group of casino advocates gathered at the Mississippi Monument along West Confederate Avenue. Winfield was invited to town by Mason Dixon Resort and Casino investors David LeVan and Joseph Lashinger to “set the record straight” on Vicksburg gaming, stemming from an Aug. 31 public hearing on the proposed Eisenhower Inn resort casino.
“I heard about the negative testimony, and it’s untrue,” Winfield said about the five casinos in Vicksburg. “Gaming has been invaluable to our community,” he said, naming lower real estate taxes, new equipment, and millions of dollars in annual revenue for the city’s $70 million budget. “There are nothing but upsides to the gaming industry.”
Winfield said that opponents are “either lying, or have their facts misconstrued” when they imply that tourists will stay away from Gettysburg, if a casino license is granted here. “It’s truly been a win-win marriage,” Winfield told a group that included LeVan, Cumberland Township Board Chairman David P. Waybright, Cumberland Police Chief Don Boehs, and Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association President Brendan Synnamon.
The mayor explained that Vicksburg has “one of the lowest tax rates” in Warren County, out of 82 counties across the state. “That was not the case prior to 1983, with the first casino,” said Winfield, noting that he’s been through two budget cycles, and “I do not imagine taxes getting higher.” In reply, LeVan guessed that “some of the jurisdictions that have lower millage rates are the ones that have gaming too.”
The first-term mayor has seen no evidence that “directly links casinos to increased criminal activity” in communities, since gaming was established 27 years ago in Mississippi. Winfield noted that the town’s police department now has 140 officers, and that the staff has increased over the years because of gaming revenues. He estimated that gaming revenues make up 25 percent of the city’s $32 million general fund, in an overall $70 million budget.
“It’s another revenue stream. If we didn’t have gaming in Vicksburg, I can’t imagine what it would be for our budget,” said Winfield.
The district attorneys in the nine counties that are presently home to casinos in Pennsylvania have reported no crime surge in their communities, since gaming facilities opened in the past five years.
“There is no drain on the police force, whatsoever,” Winfield said regarding Vicksburg casinos, noting that gaming shares have allowed the department to purchase new equipment and vehicles.
Cumberland Township is guaranteed at least $1 million in annual gaming proceeds, if the Mason Dixon Resort is awarded a license in December, representing more than one-third of the township’s annual $2.5 million budget. LeVan and Lashinger have proposed converting the Eisenhower Inn and All-Star Sports Complex into a $75 million resort casino, with 600 slot machines and 50 table games.
Winfield noted that Vicksburg was the only military park in Mississippi that saw an increase in visitation over the last 12 months, while visitation has trended downward nationwide.
“I can’t tell you that it’s directly linked to gaming, but gaming is certainly a part of it,” said Mayor Winfield. “The tourism and gaming communities have benefited from each other, and the same thing would happen here.” Winfield explained that one casino is about “three or four miles” away from the battlefield. Here, the Eisenhower Inn is about a half mile away from an isolated portion of the Gettysburg National Military Park.
Winfield informed Synnamon, whose organization voted earlier this year to endorse the Mason Dixon project, that the casinos in Vicksburg work together and coincide peacefully with preservation groups.
“I don’t know of any (preservation groups) have been anti-gaming,” said Winfield, noting that his city is in the “Bible Belt.” “There were people who had deep rooted feelings against gaming, but that’s a personal choice,” Winfield said. “Most of the opposition to gaming in Vicksburg centers around quality of life and religious grounds.”
Revenue shares from VIcksburg casinos are divvied to the city (65 percent), the school district (10 percent), and Warren County (25 percent). Thousands of people are employed by city casinos, according to the mayor.
The Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates the the city's surrender on July 4, 1863, along with the capture of Port Hudson, La., on July 8. The event split the South, giving control of the Mississippi River to the Union. More than 1,340 monuments, a restored Union gunboat, and National Cemetery mark the 16-mile tour road.
www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/article_b313a24e-f143-11df-a4b8-001cc4c002e0.html
Posted: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 12:35 am
BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Times Staff Writer | 4 comments
The mayor of Vicksburg, Miss. touted the positive impacts that gaming has had in his Civil War community Monday afternoon, in a special visit to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Mayor Paul Winfield, 37, visited town one day before final suitability hearings are scheduled in Harrisburg on the proposed Mason Dixon Resort & Casino in Cumberland Township.
“Don’t be afraid of progress,” Vicksburg Mayor Paul Winfield told a group of casino advocates gathered at the Mississippi Monument along West Confederate Avenue. Winfield was invited to town by Mason Dixon Resort and Casino investors David LeVan and Joseph Lashinger to “set the record straight” on Vicksburg gaming, stemming from an Aug. 31 public hearing on the proposed Eisenhower Inn resort casino.
“I heard about the negative testimony, and it’s untrue,” Winfield said about the five casinos in Vicksburg. “Gaming has been invaluable to our community,” he said, naming lower real estate taxes, new equipment, and millions of dollars in annual revenue for the city’s $70 million budget. “There are nothing but upsides to the gaming industry.”
Winfield said that opponents are “either lying, or have their facts misconstrued” when they imply that tourists will stay away from Gettysburg, if a casino license is granted here. “It’s truly been a win-win marriage,” Winfield told a group that included LeVan, Cumberland Township Board Chairman David P. Waybright, Cumberland Police Chief Don Boehs, and Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association President Brendan Synnamon.
The mayor explained that Vicksburg has “one of the lowest tax rates” in Warren County, out of 82 counties across the state. “That was not the case prior to 1983, with the first casino,” said Winfield, noting that he’s been through two budget cycles, and “I do not imagine taxes getting higher.” In reply, LeVan guessed that “some of the jurisdictions that have lower millage rates are the ones that have gaming too.”
The first-term mayor has seen no evidence that “directly links casinos to increased criminal activity” in communities, since gaming was established 27 years ago in Mississippi. Winfield noted that the town’s police department now has 140 officers, and that the staff has increased over the years because of gaming revenues. He estimated that gaming revenues make up 25 percent of the city’s $32 million general fund, in an overall $70 million budget.
“It’s another revenue stream. If we didn’t have gaming in Vicksburg, I can’t imagine what it would be for our budget,” said Winfield.
The district attorneys in the nine counties that are presently home to casinos in Pennsylvania have reported no crime surge in their communities, since gaming facilities opened in the past five years.
“There is no drain on the police force, whatsoever,” Winfield said regarding Vicksburg casinos, noting that gaming shares have allowed the department to purchase new equipment and vehicles.
Cumberland Township is guaranteed at least $1 million in annual gaming proceeds, if the Mason Dixon Resort is awarded a license in December, representing more than one-third of the township’s annual $2.5 million budget. LeVan and Lashinger have proposed converting the Eisenhower Inn and All-Star Sports Complex into a $75 million resort casino, with 600 slot machines and 50 table games.
Winfield noted that Vicksburg was the only military park in Mississippi that saw an increase in visitation over the last 12 months, while visitation has trended downward nationwide.
“I can’t tell you that it’s directly linked to gaming, but gaming is certainly a part of it,” said Mayor Winfield. “The tourism and gaming communities have benefited from each other, and the same thing would happen here.” Winfield explained that one casino is about “three or four miles” away from the battlefield. Here, the Eisenhower Inn is about a half mile away from an isolated portion of the Gettysburg National Military Park.
Winfield informed Synnamon, whose organization voted earlier this year to endorse the Mason Dixon project, that the casinos in Vicksburg work together and coincide peacefully with preservation groups.
“I don’t know of any (preservation groups) have been anti-gaming,” said Winfield, noting that his city is in the “Bible Belt.” “There were people who had deep rooted feelings against gaming, but that’s a personal choice,” Winfield said. “Most of the opposition to gaming in Vicksburg centers around quality of life and religious grounds.”
Revenue shares from VIcksburg casinos are divvied to the city (65 percent), the school district (10 percent), and Warren County (25 percent). Thousands of people are employed by city casinos, according to the mayor.
The Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates the the city's surrender on July 4, 1863, along with the capture of Port Hudson, La., on July 8. The event split the South, giving control of the Mississippi River to the Union. More than 1,340 monuments, a restored Union gunboat, and National Cemetery mark the 16-mile tour road.
