Post by gburgbaseballmom on Sept 8, 2010 22:20:53 GMT -5
Cumberland Twp. casino competition states case
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ShareSend this page to your friendsPrintCreate a hardcopy of this pageFont Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizePosted: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 9:46 pm
BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Times Staff Writer | 0 comments
The casino project considered to be the primary competition to the Gettysburg-area Mason Dixon Resort & Casino — the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in western Pennsylvania — went before the state’s Gaming Control Board for public testimony Wednesday.
Mason Dixon investors David LeVan and Joseph Lashinger, who have proposed converting a Cumberland Township hotel into a resort casino, were among the audience members at the Wharton Township Municipal Building in Farmington, Pa.
They did not testify, and attended “simply to observe,” according to Mason Dixon spokesman David La Torre.
The hearing was highlighted by testimony from the developer of the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in western Pennsylvania, who argued that approving a Category Three facility at the nearby Nemacolin Resort would result in job losses at two existing Pittsburgh-area casinos: the Meadows, in Washington County, and the Rivers Casino in Allegheny County.
Both casinos, as well as two gaming sites in West Virginia, are located within driving distance of Nemacolin, in Fayette County.
“Southwestern Pennsylvania is now well-served by its existing casinos,” Meadows Principal Bill Paulos told state gambling regulators.
“An additional casino will only be minimally-accretive to the state tax totals, and most definitely dilutive to the Commonwealth’s existing (gaming) partners,” said Paulos, adding that there are “higher revenue opportunities” on the other side of the state, such as the “eastern border” of Pennsylvania.
The Nemacolin Resort, operated by 84 Lumber President Maggie Hardy Magerko, and Mason Dixon are two of four applicants vying for the state’s lone remaining Category Three slots resort license. A decision is expected later this year by the state’s Gaming Control Board, following final suitability hearings before the board, sometime in November.
The existing Nemacolin Resort in Wharton Township is located about 40 miles south of downtown Pittsburgh, and features 335 guest rooms, suites, and luxury homes, atop 2,000-acres of land with two golf courses, ski facilities, an air strip and a shooting range.
The site of the proposed Mason Dixon Resort, the Eisenhower Inn along Business 15 south of Gettysburg, features 300 rooms, an All-Star Sports Complex, and residential development.
“The southwestern Pennsylvania marketplace simply cannot hold an additional casino, without cannibalizing the casinos that are already there,” said La Torre.
Nemacolin spokesman Tom Hickey disagreed that a third casino in the Pittsburgh-area would “cannibalize” the gaming marketplace, arguing that the state’s western market is “underserved,” based on ”studies of other similar markets across the United States.” Hickey noted that Category Three licenses, in the state gaming law, were created for a “well-established resort, to add to an existing array of amenities, like we have at Nemacolin.”
“We don’t think there’s another proposal that meets the goal of the gaming act,” said Hickey, noting licensure of the $50 million Nemacolin Casino would create up to 600 new jobs at the casino and hotel, and produce $40 million annually in state or local taxes. “We already have a strong base in the Baltimore and Washington area, and 60 percent of our guests are from outside of Pennsylvania,” said Hickey.
Citing the testimony of Paulos, La Torre countered that the Nemacolin project would “saturate the gaming market” in Pittsburgh. “There are two casinos already in western Pennsylvania, and there’s also two nearby casinos in West Virginia,” said La Torre, naming the Wheeling Island and Mountaineer facilities as examples. “A region can only take so much.”
Proponents of the Mason Dixon project, such as Pro Casino Adams County spokesman Jeff Klein, have touted 400 new jobs during tough economic times, and what they believe is “overwhelming support” in Adams County for a casino. But opponents, like No Casino Gettysburg spokeswoman Susan Star Paddock, argue that “Gettysburg has 10 times the opposition of any other site.”
Wednesday’s hearing on the Nemacolin Resort marked the final of four scheduled public meetings on Category Three casino proposals, held over the past two weeks by the state’s Gaming Control Board. Officials reported that 100 people attended the Nemacolin hearing, with presentations by two Fayette County lawmakers, five government agencies (Fayette County), six community groups, and 13 citizens, including Paulos. Hickey said that most speakers supported the project, with opposition from community groups in Washington County, where The Meadows Casino is located.
The Mason Dixon public input hearing, held last week at the Comfort Suites hotel, featured 400 registered speakers and nearly 30 community groups, and was stretched into two days. It was the largest public hearing on a casino project since the state legislature authorized gaming in 2004.
The Nemacolin Resort was one of the original Category Three applicants back in 2005-06, when the state first accepted applications, but the group later withdrew its application. The project resurfaced this year, when state lawmakers reopened the application window, and Nemacolin partnered with Isle of Capris Gaming. Mason Dixon is partnering with Penn National Gaming, which operates three casinos in the south-central Pennsylvania region.
www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/local/article_3329c5e6-bbb4-11df-bcf9-001cc4c03286.html
StoryComments (0)Share This
ShareSend this page to your friendsPrintCreate a hardcopy of this pageFont Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizePosted: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 9:46 pm
BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Times Staff Writer | 0 comments
The casino project considered to be the primary competition to the Gettysburg-area Mason Dixon Resort & Casino — the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in western Pennsylvania — went before the state’s Gaming Control Board for public testimony Wednesday.
Mason Dixon investors David LeVan and Joseph Lashinger, who have proposed converting a Cumberland Township hotel into a resort casino, were among the audience members at the Wharton Township Municipal Building in Farmington, Pa.
They did not testify, and attended “simply to observe,” according to Mason Dixon spokesman David La Torre.
The hearing was highlighted by testimony from the developer of the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in western Pennsylvania, who argued that approving a Category Three facility at the nearby Nemacolin Resort would result in job losses at two existing Pittsburgh-area casinos: the Meadows, in Washington County, and the Rivers Casino in Allegheny County.
Both casinos, as well as two gaming sites in West Virginia, are located within driving distance of Nemacolin, in Fayette County.
“Southwestern Pennsylvania is now well-served by its existing casinos,” Meadows Principal Bill Paulos told state gambling regulators.
“An additional casino will only be minimally-accretive to the state tax totals, and most definitely dilutive to the Commonwealth’s existing (gaming) partners,” said Paulos, adding that there are “higher revenue opportunities” on the other side of the state, such as the “eastern border” of Pennsylvania.
The Nemacolin Resort, operated by 84 Lumber President Maggie Hardy Magerko, and Mason Dixon are two of four applicants vying for the state’s lone remaining Category Three slots resort license. A decision is expected later this year by the state’s Gaming Control Board, following final suitability hearings before the board, sometime in November.
The existing Nemacolin Resort in Wharton Township is located about 40 miles south of downtown Pittsburgh, and features 335 guest rooms, suites, and luxury homes, atop 2,000-acres of land with two golf courses, ski facilities, an air strip and a shooting range.
The site of the proposed Mason Dixon Resort, the Eisenhower Inn along Business 15 south of Gettysburg, features 300 rooms, an All-Star Sports Complex, and residential development.
“The southwestern Pennsylvania marketplace simply cannot hold an additional casino, without cannibalizing the casinos that are already there,” said La Torre.
Nemacolin spokesman Tom Hickey disagreed that a third casino in the Pittsburgh-area would “cannibalize” the gaming marketplace, arguing that the state’s western market is “underserved,” based on ”studies of other similar markets across the United States.” Hickey noted that Category Three licenses, in the state gaming law, were created for a “well-established resort, to add to an existing array of amenities, like we have at Nemacolin.”
“We don’t think there’s another proposal that meets the goal of the gaming act,” said Hickey, noting licensure of the $50 million Nemacolin Casino would create up to 600 new jobs at the casino and hotel, and produce $40 million annually in state or local taxes. “We already have a strong base in the Baltimore and Washington area, and 60 percent of our guests are from outside of Pennsylvania,” said Hickey.
Citing the testimony of Paulos, La Torre countered that the Nemacolin project would “saturate the gaming market” in Pittsburgh. “There are two casinos already in western Pennsylvania, and there’s also two nearby casinos in West Virginia,” said La Torre, naming the Wheeling Island and Mountaineer facilities as examples. “A region can only take so much.”
Proponents of the Mason Dixon project, such as Pro Casino Adams County spokesman Jeff Klein, have touted 400 new jobs during tough economic times, and what they believe is “overwhelming support” in Adams County for a casino. But opponents, like No Casino Gettysburg spokeswoman Susan Star Paddock, argue that “Gettysburg has 10 times the opposition of any other site.”
Wednesday’s hearing on the Nemacolin Resort marked the final of four scheduled public meetings on Category Three casino proposals, held over the past two weeks by the state’s Gaming Control Board. Officials reported that 100 people attended the Nemacolin hearing, with presentations by two Fayette County lawmakers, five government agencies (Fayette County), six community groups, and 13 citizens, including Paulos. Hickey said that most speakers supported the project, with opposition from community groups in Washington County, where The Meadows Casino is located.
The Mason Dixon public input hearing, held last week at the Comfort Suites hotel, featured 400 registered speakers and nearly 30 community groups, and was stretched into two days. It was the largest public hearing on a casino project since the state legislature authorized gaming in 2004.
The Nemacolin Resort was one of the original Category Three applicants back in 2005-06, when the state first accepted applications, but the group later withdrew its application. The project resurfaced this year, when state lawmakers reopened the application window, and Nemacolin partnered with Isle of Capris Gaming. Mason Dixon is partnering with Penn National Gaming, which operates three casinos in the south-central Pennsylvania region.
www.gettysburgtimes.com/news/local/article_3329c5e6-bbb4-11df-bcf9-001cc4c03286.html
