Plans call for presenting the petitions to the state Gaming Control Board later this week.

The coalition, which includes state Sens. David J. Brightbill, Noah Wenger and Gib Armstrong and state Reps. Gib Armstrong and Roy Baldwin, hopes to hobble the proposed slots parlor's chances at securing a state gaming license.

"One of the key elements in any slots application will be the demonstration of community support," Sen. Armstrong said. "Today, the people of Lancaster County, through their hard work, gave an emphatic 'no.'"ˆ"

Put simply, a casino just wouldn't fit here, Armstrong said.

"We're family-oriented, and this is totally out of whack for what we are in Lancaster," he said. "There are too many problems associated with it."

Headed locally by Manheim Township lawyers Jerome Finefrock and Jim Nettleton Jr., a group of investors hopes to transform the Bulova Technologies building on Lancaster Square into a slots parlor with up to 5,000 machines.

Backers also have floated the possibility of finding another site within city limits for the parlor.

Finefrock said his group had no comment on the petition drive.

The petitions circulated by Sens. Armstrong, Wenger and Brightbill has garnered nearly 12,000 signatures, Armstrong said.

Baldwin's similar petition has roughly 1,200 signatures, and Rep. Armstrong's petition includes more than 1,000 signatures.

Signed petitions are still coming in, even though the deadline for signatures was Jan. 20, said Erik Arneson, spokesman for Brightbill.

The petitions oppose a slots parlor at the downtown site or anywhere else in the county.

The petition drives are not the only move to block the proposed slots parlor.

Opponents have raised funds and hired attorney Tony Schimaneck to fight the proposal, starting with a city zoning hearing scheduled for Feb. 6, said Skip Brown, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts.

Parlor backers are scheduled to go before the zoning hearing board to request a special exception to operate slots machines.

An opposition group, CasinoFree Lancaster County, will hold a meeting for those who oppose the slots parlor at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Grandview Heights United Methodist Church.

Sen. Armstrong said he has doubts about the proposal's future anyway.

"(The backers) just don't seem to have the wherewithal to have all the necessary things to pull this off," he said. blog comments powered by Disqus