Gambling at Gettysburg

Of course the biggest gamble ever at Gettysburg was Gen. Robert E. Lee's decision to continue the fight after Day 1 ended with the Union holding the high ground.  However, a modern day gamble is being proposed near the site of the battle that turned the war:

Proponents of a project to convert Gettysburg's Eisenhower Conference Center into a gambling casino received new support from a surprising corner -- the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association.

The GBPA, which calls itself the nation's oldest Civil War preservation group, said on Monday the Mason Dixon Resort & Casino project would help the local economy.

"Preservation does not exist in a vacuum. Our local preservation work cannot thrive absent a local economy that helps induce and support it," writes Brendan Synnamon, GBPA president.

No Casino Gettysburg spokeswoman Susan Star Paddock strongly disagrees.

"The GBPA's reference to this debate as a 'local issue' is tragically out of step with the way most Americans view the Gettysburg battlefield."

The American Legion has joined local opponents of the project, calling the casino proposal "a national disgrace."

Casino supporters say the resort's location one-half mile from Gettysburg National Military Park presents no threat to the historical significance of the field where 172,000 Union and Confederate troops fought and nearly 8,000 died.

I guess we'll need to get Obama's opinion on this since he loves to get involved in local issues like the Cambridge Police or the Ground Zero Mosque.

It's interesting that the National Park Service tore down the observation tower that overlooked the battlefield because they felt it too intrusive.  I'm not sure how a casino a short distance from the battlefield will be any less so.