Casino plans revealed include 600-slot machine and 50-table game gambling building
CUMBERLAND TOWNSHIP, ADAMS COUNTY – The plans for a proposed Gettysburg-area casino were revealed to the public Monday.
The plans for the Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino include several renderings of a fully refurbished 100-acre resort facility on the current grounds of the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center along Emmitsburg Road south of the Gettysburg battlefield.
“The idea is a much more elegant destination resort, which is a low-profile built into the landscape itself,” Donald Dissinger of EwingCole Architects and Engineers said.
The plans and renderings, created by EwingCole, will be presented to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday in hopes of landing a casino license.
The casino’s developer, David LeVan, plans to push the creation of 400-plus jobs and increased state gaming revenue as the casino’s chief selling points.
“I think the biggest thing to convince them is the economic impact,” LeVan said. “I think our ability to have this casino be more successful than any of our competitors (is key),” he said.
A family games and entertainment building known as Allstar Funland will be remodeled into the casino at the heart of the resort if the plan is approved, but it is facing vocal opposition from the group “No Casino Gettysburg.”
“It’s young, middle-class families that come visit Gettysburg, and they don’t want the casino,” business owner Steve Shultz said.
Shultz owns an art and collectible shop and bed and breakfast in Gettysburg.
He said an overwhelming number of his customers and other town business owners oppose the casino.
They want the state to keep gambling out of the historic town, he said.
“We don’t have a lot of choice,” Shultz said. “It’s up to the people in Harrisburg what they’re going to do.”
The Mason-Dixon Casino & Resort plans will be presented to the state gaming control board on Wednesday morning in Harrisburg.
Members of “No Casino Gettysburg” plan to be there to show their opposition.
A decision could come in a matter of weeks or months.
By Craig Layne Multi-Media Journalist
Copyright © 2010,Fox43
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