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Casino Ban at Risk

A proposed ban on a Casino near Gettysburg in York County was put in jeopardy in the Senate Saturday July 1, as the negotiators put forth a deal on a bill that seeks to make amendments to the 2004 slots law.

By stopping the ban on its tracks in the Legislature, the lawmakers would be leaving the decision on the Crossroads Gaming Resort and Spa back in the hands of the State Gaming Control Board. The Crossroads Gaming Resort and Spa plan is one of the six casinos competing for two licenses for stand-alone casinos outside of Philadelphia and Pittsbugrh. The board is aiming to begin giving out slots licenses in December of 2006.

The ban has been raising issues in the senate about whether it commandeers power that was supposed to be meant for the gaming board. Likewise it also raises the issue of whether it opens the state to a lawsuit. The ban was affiliated with a slots bill proposed to the House in March by Rep. Stephen Maitland, R-Gettysburg.

Closed-door meetings between senators proceeded over the said omnibus slots bill Saturday night, July 1. As it turned out however, there were more questions raised about their plans than answers given. Facts are hazy as there have been conflicting reports about plans for a revision that would remove the Gettysburg-area ban from the omnibus slots bill.

The proposed ban likewise states that it will be prohibiting any stand-alone slots parlor in a sixth class county with a population between the numbers 91, 000 and 92, 000. Off all the counties, Adams is the only one that meets this criterion.

According to Sen. Vince Fumo, D-Philadelphia, he is 90 percent sure of the plans to remove the ban. However, conflictingly, Sen. Robert Tomlinson, R-Bucks said that the ban was intact in his most recent report of the discussions. Incidentally, both are involved in the making of the original slots law.

It was also not clear during the Saturday talks when the said bill would be seeing a floor vote as lawmakers aimed to complete a state budget and negotiated over other pressing issues such as lobbyist disclosure.

The Crossroads Gaming Resort and Spa has been the subject of a public debate, with the opponents claiming that it would be hurting tourism in the area. The backers, however, claimed that it would give the local economy a boost with jobs and tax revenue.

A group of investors led by Gettysburg businessman David LeVan have proposed the stand-alone slots parlor to be located at routes 15 and 30.