Located in Laurel Highlands, Gettysburg relieved
By Jim Panyard | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Nemacolin Woodlands Resort on Thursday beat three competitors to receive the state’s last full-service gaming license.
The state Gaming Control Board voted 6-1 in favor of the upscale 2,000-acre hotel and golf resort located in the Laurel Highlands of southeastern Pennsylvania, to be operated by Woodlands Fayette, LLC. The lone dissenting vote was cast by Gaming Control Board Commissioner Kenneth L. Trujillo, who favored a site in northeastern Pennsylvania at Bushkill in Monroe County.
The only people happier than Nemacolin management were more than 50 people at the meeting from the Gettysburg region who have fought for four years to prevent a casino being built near the historic Gettysburg National Military Park.
“Thank you. Thank you. Gettysburg lives,” cried the group as the final vote was cast.
GCB Chairman Gregory Fajt gaveled the crowd to order and called for a 10 minute break in the proceedings following the outburst.
The Gettysburg operation would have been managed by Mason-Dixon Resorts LP. The other contestant for the highly valued license, which will cost $5 million upfront and be renewed annually, was Penn Harris Gaming LP, which wanted the casino operation at the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill in the state’s south central region.
The Nemacolin resort, owned by 88-year-old Joseph A. Hardy III, features three golf courses, a spa and multiple restaurants. Hardy, a longtime political fixture in Fayette County, made his fortune with 84 Lumber, which is now run by his daughter, Maggie Hardy.
The license allows the ownership to put up to 50 table games of chance and up to 600 slot machines around their facility.
It is anticipated the new gaming operation with slot machines and table games will help decrease Fayette County’s high unemployment rate and ease its depressed economic climate. Unemployment in Fayette County stood at 10.8 percent in February, down 2.6 percent from February 2010, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
According to GCB data, since gambling was approved in Pennsylvania in 2006, the state’s 10 gaming facilities have created 11,505 jobs. Eighty-seven percent of those have gone to Pennsylvanians.
GCB data also show, since 2007, white workers have filled 82 percent of the gaming jobs, while Hispanic and blacks have seen their share of the work force shrink from 18 percent in 2007 to 13 percent today. Men hold 56 percent of the jobs; women hold 44 percent.
The 10 existing gambling operations have generated about $6.9 million in state taxes from table games during the first nine months of the current fiscal year. Taxes on slot machine revenue were about $56 million during the same period.
Fajt said neither he nor members of the commission would discuss their votes. The GCB members praised the efforts, suitability and professionalism of all contestants for the license.
