As the Massachusetts House and Senate  conferees continue to negotiate the elements of the casino/gambling bill, stories continue to crop-up about casinos elsewhere. One of the most controversial is the attempt to license a casino only a half-mile from the national military park that commemorates the Civil War battle of Gettysburg. See our recent blog post about the controversy here. As often happens, there’s a local connection.

The Springfield Republican has a story today about Joseph A. Lashinger Jr. – a lead partner in a proposal to put a casino at Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke – should the Massachusetts casino bill become law. It seems that Lashinger is a main partner in Mason-Dixon Resorts & Casino that wants to put that oh-so controversial  casino with 600 slot machines and table games in the existing Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Center in Gettysburg.

Susan Star Paddock – a leading  opponent of the casino at Gettysburg has words of caution for the folks in Holyoke:

If Lashinger can push for gambling houses to crowd one of America’s sacred battle fields, she said, Holyoke should guard its interests when he comes calling. “We’d suggest that your community look closely and ask plenty of questions of Joe Lashinger,” she said.

Lashinger – whose wife is from Ludlow –  is a lawyer and former seven-term member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is well versed in the casino business  and has held gaming licenses in Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Colorado, Louisiana, West Virginia and Ontario, Canada. In fact back in 1995 –  he proposed a casino for Springfield.

For the whole story read Mike Plaisance’s article from the Springfield Republican here.