Senator Elder Vogel issued the following statement in response to today’s announcement by Penn National Gaming of its intention to withdraw its support for the proposed Lawrence Downs Casino and Racing Resort project.
“This is truly disappointing news for our community. The discord between the partners involved in the project and the comments by the Penn National that the racino cannot be successful due to saturation and ‘deteriorating market conditions in Lawrence County’ are particularly disturbing. As the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, which oversees the horse racing industry in Pennsylvania, and as someone who is committed to working in collaboration with local officials and private business to promote economic development in our region, I am frustrated by this turn of events. I truly hope a new partnership team can step forward and aggressively work to bring this project to fruition.”
CONTACT: Joe Weidner (724) 774-0444