ShareThisWASHINGTON - Casinos are everywhere these days. In fact, it is difficult to be very far away from one wherever you go. Even my hometown of Shelbyville, Ind., has one only a good drive and a long iron shot away from where I used to spend my summers caddying and playing golf at the local country club. Washington is only an hour away from a mega-facility and will be much closer to several if Maryland ever gets its act together.
They start out small and suddenly become these hugely gaudy, neon palaces successfully beckoning throngs, particularly on a Saturday night, into an atmosphere so smoke-filled and noisy that entering one is to deny there was ever any evidence that cigarettes and extreme decibel levels are harmful.
Their advocates contend that they supply jobs, dramatically improve state and local revenues for vital services like education and provide legitimate entertainment and dining opportunities. That is probably true to some extent, but there always is a downside, not the least of which is to extract a good deal of money from people who can't afford it but are frantically seeking a bit of luck to stave off the wolf. And that doesn't count those who have a gambling sickness.
For a long time, many private social clubs and country clubs from the small towns to the largest were kept afloat by slot machines. But somewhere along the way, in the late 1940s and early '50s, the blind eyes that authorities turned to this activity became sighted and the machines disappeared in an avalanche of moral indignation. Still, there are very few of us who don't get some thrill out of a touch of slot or table action on an otherwise uneventful day. The promise of what that could do for one's livelihood and community and the glamour of Las Vegas overwhelmed our Puritan inhibitions. Leading the way were the Native Americans, who understood that fleecing the "White Eyes" would meet their own desperate needs. Besides, they could get even for all those centuries of injustice.
There's a proposal to build a casino in Pennsylvania only a half mile from the hallowed Gettysburg battlefield, where thousands of Americans on both sides of the War Between the States died and thousands more were wounded. Tourists would thus have the opportunity of showing the kiddies the value of dedication and courage or spending the money on the "Wheel of Fortune" or at the blackjack table.
The "modest" proposal -- not a new one, by any means -- is to bring in 600 slots and 60 tables to an existing hotel. It is an alternative to a larger facility proposed and rejected several years ago. However, opponents argue that permitting that relatively small entry, if the past is any indication, would merely pave the way for a much larger presence.
The developers contend the casino would be operated a full five miles from the center of the 6,000-acre national park, famously dedicated as a national cemetery by Abraham Lincoln in language that has become as important and familiar as the Declaration of Independence and the preamble to the Constitution.
That is all well and good, but Pennsylvania has just recently entered the gambling sweepstakes and has casinos operating in strategic locations like Philadelphia. There are plans for more. One should not be located near sacred ground, as Lincoln said, "consecrated" by the brave men who fought there in July 1863. More than 200 distinguished historians have come together to protest what they rightfully see as an intrusion of the sanctity of this heritage site.
It is difficult to disagree with that, even for those of us who have no objection to placing a reasonable bet once in a while or taking some time out to spend a few dollars of extra change for an hour or so of entertainment.
(E-mail Dan K. Thomasson, former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service, at thomassondan(at)aol.com.)
COLUMN
A Gettysburg casino would be a bad bet.
Mr. Thomasson
I disagree with your editorial and here is why:
Unemployment in Gettysburg and Adams County PA is at a 25 year high of 9%. Presently, I am among those 9% of county residents that are unemployed.
Over 50% of properties in Gettysburg are not on the tax roles. The Gettysburg National Military Park (6,000 acres), Gettysburg College, Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary, and the Gettysburg High School to name a few.
I have lived 57 of my 63 years in Adams County having been born on a small farm in the county. My wife and I moved back to Gettysburg 35 years ago onto a small farm. Recently there was a tax reassessment. Now the tax on an 8 acre plot of unimproved ground, farm ground, went from $814 to $2500!. The proposed casino would help alleviate our taxes.
The proposed casino, not on the 6,000 acre National Military Park would bring family sustaning jobs to Gettysburg and Adams County.
Two scientific polls conducted here indicate that over 63% of Gettysburg and Adams County residents.
A recent poll of the Gettysburg Chamber of Commerce conducted a survey of it's members asking if they approve or disapprove of the casino. Overwhelmingly, those who responded to the poll approved of the proposed casino.
I am a US Army Veteran having served with the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. Gambling was present in the army during the civil war, and was still present when I was in the Army.
Respectfully Submitted July 26, 2010.
great editorial
I'm also a native of Gettysburg and I completely agree with your editorial. My husband is also a Vietnam vet and native. We are among thousands of local people who are fighting this stupid proposal. No American would want a casino less than 3000 feet from Arlington or Ground Zero, so why would we want one where 51,000 soldiers were casualties, where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address? Check out http://nocasinogettysburg.com and Facebook group No Casino Gettysburg, now with 7000+ members.
sorry, its
sorry, its http://nocasinogettysburg.ORG. the .com site is a pro casino site
Some Nerve You Have!
Once again, it seems that someone who knows nothing about Gettysburg’s economic problems or the integrity of the LeVan family and their dedication to tasteful architecture and reliable business has taken it up the verbal war going on between Pro and No Casino issues. I, too, have traveled, and although I do not have the funds to gamble, I have seen and appreciated many non-neon, natural and ethnic-themed Casinos, full of art and dining accommodations that are a welcome improvement upon many of the local tourist facilities. The architect’s renderings of Mason Dixon Resort are lovely, low-key and naturally fitting our rural ambiance.
As a native to the Gettysburg area, and long-time resident, DAR family and Land-Conservancy founding member, I find it ironic that those who do not live here can even have the nerve to comment. Gettysburg is bankrupt from lack of a tax-base, with a huge national park and several colleges surrounding the town. Retrofitting older facilities is welcome, but not emphasized, and the new Mason-Dixon Resort will do just that, while many of the new local developments have imposed upon farmland and open spaces.
I am an artist, low-income, and have always had to work to pay my taxes at various local businesses, downtown and on the fringes of Gettysburg. Invariably, we would be asked what ELSE there is to do, especially in the evenings, after dark. Most of our tourists with families are day-trippers, or have plans to take care of their children. Many tourists seem to be older couples, retirees, or younger people without children, all of these are looking for auxiliary activities to History 24/7. There are presently huge numbers of locals taking bus trips to Atlantic City, Charlestown, Penn National, Vegas – these folks are spending a lot of money out-of-town, which could be spent here at a local Casino.
Gambling is a traditional form of entertainment in many cultures, including our All-American melting pot. It happened quite a bit among Civil War soldiers! Most contemporary gamblers I have observed are older citizens who have time and money to gamble. They are having fun, know when to quit, and are good, moral people. We have non-smoking public places in Pennsylvania. It is rude to make assumptions about any of this. Look at the social misfits and scandals among our elected officials, moral-majority leaders and business world. Ha.
The sacred nature of history and war-casualties is never compromised by the mere fact of life moving ahead, economic survival, and recreation. The Gettysburg National Park is well-preserved, intact and interpreted. Indeed, I would think that those soldiers would smile at people having good times and enjoying what they fought to preserve – the freedom to choose what we want to do with our own neighborhoods, to have some fun, to make a living for our families.
Gettysburg Casino
I am gone to be short and sweet, I live in NJ about a half hour from the AC Casinos, (also the Brigatine casinos, they don't stop at one place), if you notice NJ is in the news, we are going bankrupt. The Casinos have brought NOTHING but gaudiness and crime in all types.
And as for taxes, don't move here, I've lived here ALL my life and cannot afford to move now, yea Casino ARE YOUR ANSWERS!, well you'd better thing again.