While legalizing casino gambling may be popular in Raleigh, the people of western Rockingham County are making it clear they don’t want a casino in their county.
Monday, Aug. 1, opponents of building a casino along US 220 in Rockingham County just north of Stokesdale and Summerfield filled the Ellisboro Baptist Church, not far from the 192-acre site that is up for rezoning this month.
The church holds a little over 400 people, and the event held by the Concerned Citizens for Western Rockingham County attracted a standing-room-only crowd of people most wearing buttons that read, “NO Casino: Keep Our Community Great.”
While no official announcement has been made, the handwriting is on the wall as far as the proposed casino goes. The Rockingham County zoning ordinance was amended in June to make “electronic gaming operations” a permitted use in the Highway Commercial zoning district.
On the agenda for the Monday, Aug. 21 meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners is a request to rezone the 192-acre site along US 220 from Residential Agricultural to Highway Commercial. The rezoning request is being made by NC Development Holdings, which has the same address as The Cordish Companies, which, according to its website, is “a leading developer and operator of gaming and hospitality projects.”
Many of the speakers at the Ellisboro Baptist Church complained of the lack of transparency in the project and about the fact that the community was not given a voice.
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page was the only elected official who spoke at the meeting, and he said, “I just heard about this four weeks ago.”
Page said, “Nothing good will come from establishing casinos in Rockingham County or in the state.”
He said, “Let the people of Rockingham County and of North Carolina make the decision with a referendum.”
Page added, “I oppose what is going on and I oppose casinos here in Rockingham County.”
Former Sixth District Congressman Mark Walker, who is an announced candidate for governor, ran the meeting, and to his credit, he didn’t once mention that he was running for governor.
Many of the speakers noted that the casino would bring crime, drugs and prostitution to the area and destroy the rural agricultural way of life that the residents now enjoyed.
One speaker said, “They are coming here because we are only 15 miles from the airport. But we’re not Las Vegas and we don’t want to be Las Vegas.”
The proposed casino site is adjacent to Camp Carefree, a camp for children with chronic diseases, and a number of speakers noted that placing a casino complex with the accompanying hotels, restaurants and bars next to a camp for children with chronic diseases and disabilities was just wrong.
Several speakers said that legalizing casinos in the state was a “done deal” in Raleigh, and opponents should concentrate on contacting their county commissioners to defeat the rezoning request.
Hey, contact Nancy and Skip. If the cut is big enough for each, they will have the city and county tax payers carry the financial load.
Gambling is OK, as long as the govt gets a cut, along with the legalized gambling companies. Myself included, people like to gamble. But not slots, bandits, a casino, etc. I wouldn’t want legalized gambling in my neighborhood.
Poker is a zero-sum game. What is won, is lost; no one gets a cut. Skill, plus some luck. It’s true, if you look around for the week player(s), and can’t find one; then it is you. Get out.
A casino is voluntary taxation, just like the lottery.
The state of North Carolina does not need nor should not want casinos. No county in NC needs a casino. What is wrong with the politicians in Raleigh? Gambling is risking money that most people can ill afford to lose. Casinos are built to make money for the owners and politicians not the players. It is a license to steal. Why would the state government propose and support an industry that leads to the destruction of the human spirit, creating a bunch of zombies sitting and looking at some screen hour after hour. Gambling is corrupting. Las Vegas has been providing gambling thrills since 1947. Let’s leave it in Vegas.
As far as leaving the residents in the dark, that’s the way government works. Government wants to keep the public in the dark so that there is not enough time to organize and fight against the project. The first clue was the zoning change. Whenever a government makes a change, always ask why. Keep fighting to keep the casino out of Rockingham County.
We already have gambling here with the lottery. What is the difference between the lottery and casinos? It is ALL the same thing!!! It is a way to steal from the citizens. AND it is legal. I hope we get a casino is our community.
Martin, NO YOU DO NOT WANT A CASINO IN YOUR COMMUNITY ! Casinos bring in the worst of humanity, and bring out the worst in gamblers, who can quickly become addicts. Just ask anyone who has ever lived near one or worked there. Casinos a usually owned by out-of-state corporations, whose goal is to make $$$$ for the casinos, definitely not for the gamblers. You can only lose so much $$ in the lottery, but an addict can quickly go bankrupt in a casino. I worked in one in Colorado for 7 years, so I’ve seen it happen frequently. When the voters in Colorado were asked to approve more casinos forseveral other counties in the state, they turned them down by a vote of 4 to 1. Nuff said?
Casinos attract the very people that you DON’T want in your community: addicts, prostitutes, scumbags, thieves,etc. Casinos aren’t in business for you to make $ ! Since I worked in a casino in another state ( and not by choice), I speak from experience. Casinos destroyed a historic town and its local business including tourism. They raised property taxes through the roof, crowded the schools with children of ” don’t care” parents, littered the streets with cigarette buts and trash, and turned normal people who came “for fun” into addicts. I’ve witnessed gamblers who couldn’t get a $25 cash advance on any of the their several credit cards. Folks I knew underwent a complete personality change when they were losing. And it wasn’t a pleasant change. Bankruptcy was prevalent among the habitual gamblers. And they didn’t intend to become gambling addicts. Any profit to the town went to increased police protection, more fire trucks and first responders.
NO, YOU DO NOT WANT ANY MORE CASINOS IN NORTH CAROLINA !!!
The only winners are the out-of-state casino owners!
“The proposed casino site is adjacent to Camp Carefree, a camp for children with chronic diseases, and a number of speakers noted that placing a casino complex with the accompanying hotels, restaurants and bars next to a camp for children with chronic diseases and disabilities was just wrong.”
If it’s going to happen, at least pick a better location
Alan, Your statement “At least pick a better Location” worked for our CERES (Center for Environmental Research and Education in Saxapahaw) campaign to gently move the Sheriff of Alamance County’s attention away from Saxapahaw a few years back. Following up that effort we took on a Disney Developer wanting to place a sneak-attack park, starting with 20 acres. In both instances, better locations for water, parking and other services could be had on the interstate… we just needed to focus their attention on those better places and highlight why were were NOT the best location… that and our work to get the attention of the investors for the project. To get their attention we first had to get our hands on an investor prospectus. May I ask if anyone fighting this effort has yet to acquire one of those coveted documents? In it you’ll find the game plan and many answers.