Casino applicants' reports on how they'd affect their home communities are as varied as the casino proposals themselves.

The report from Harrah's Entertainment, which hopes to build a casino in Station Square, is an economic impact study.

The report from Seven Springs Mountain Resort focuses primarily on transportation and road improvements. Isle of Capri, which wants to build a casino Uptown, calculated the projected increase in fire calls.

Companies applying for a casino license were required to submit community impact reports along with their slots applications. The application itself provided broad guidelines for what should be included in the report, but the applicants still had a lot of leeway in deciding what the reports should include.

The reports, submitted in December to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, were made available for public inspection for the first time this week, and should be posted on the board's Web site by week's end.

Isle of Capri
Isle of Capri estimated that its Uptown casino would generate 6 million visits a year, with the largest crowds on weekends. It plans to employ nearly 1,200 people on weekends and nearly 800 on weekdays.

Of the three competitors for the Pittsburgh license, Isle of Capri appeared to be the only one to try to predict the impact of the casino in terms of crime. Its consultant, The Innovation Group, estimated that 240 to 360 new crime cases could occur each year, mostly involving property offenses like vandalism and stealing, traffic violations, and alcohol and drug crimes.

"The additional volume will reflect the increase in visitation to the city of Pittsburgh resulting from the casino, as criminal activity naturally increases with the concentration of persons gathered for a particular activity or event, such as seen at concerts or sporting events," the report said.

Based on the estimates, it said five to eight additional officers would be needed to handle the offenses, amounting to a 1 percent increase in city police.

"Whether it's a shopping center, a mall or a casino, the crime rate will be similar. You're driving a lot of people to a location and the end result, obviously, is that you have human behavior," Isle of Capri spokeswoman Jill Haynes said.

It also projected the casino would generate 276 to 342 additional fire calls a year, about a 1 percent jump, and 252 to 312 paramedic calls, or an increase of less than 1 percent.

PITG Gaming
In its study, PITG Gaming LLC, headed by Detroit businessman Don Barden, concentrated mainly on the traffic impact of the proposed North Shore casino, which would be built west of the Carnegie Science Center. It estimates the casino could generate up to 10 million visits a year, or 36,000 a day, with 90 percent of those coming by car. It predicts the biggest crowds on Saturday and weekday afternoons and evenings.

The report said the biggest impact could occur before and after Steelers games, as casino traffic mixes with the football crowds. As a result, the "ability to provide access to the proposed casino will be limited during these times," the report said.

It recommended upgrades to several North Shore intersections and roads, including Reedsdale Street and North Shore Drive, to accommodate its proposed casino. PITG said it is committed to funding those improvements.

To handle the traffic, PITG Gaming is proposing to start with a 3,100-space parking garage, which could expand to 5,100 spaces once the casino installs a full complement of 5,000 slot machines.

Steelers officials, who have opposed a North Shore casino, were unavailable for comment yesterday. The Pirates, which also have opposed the plans, declined comment.

Harrah's
Forest City Enterprises and Harrah's Entertainment projected slots revenues of $531.4 million in the casino's first year of operation, growing to $816.9 million by year 10. They also projected 10,377 new jobs in year one -- 2,200 at the casino itself and more than 8,000 spin-off jobs created by higher demand for goods and services.

The Station Square casino would have 410,000 square feet, with 135,000 of that dedicated to the slots parlor. A second-floor mezzanine would take up 52,000 square feet.

The portion of the report viewed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offered no details on possible increases in crime or traffic, other than to say the tax revenue produced by the casino would be more than enough to cover the extra burden placed on police, public transit and the public school system. Several traffic improvements are recommended for West Carson Street, and the casino would be flanked by a new 2,500-space self-park garage.

The Harrah's report was prepared by Christiansen Capital Advisors.

Nemacolin Woodlands
Nemacolin Woodlands is expecting 1,000 slots players on the weekends, and 650 during the week, according to the report it compiled, with more than 150 cars entering and exiting the casino parking lot during weekend peak hours.

McMillen Engineering Inc., which prepared the report, doesn't anticipate many added burdens for the surrounding communities: "Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa is essentially self-supportive and relies very little on the local community in terms of supplying utilities and services."

Nemacolin has applied for, and is expected to receive, a "resort" license -- one of two allowed in the state -- meaning it would be allowed to have up to 500 slot machines at its casino. The casino will be in the former Woodlands World store, an outdoor outfitter in Fayette County.

Seven Springs
The other resort casino will probably be at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Somerset County. Written by Pennoni Associates Inc., the resort's impact study concludes that the casino will not adversely affect nearby utilities and emergency providers such as police and fire departments. Some traffic-flow improvements would be needed, though -- mostly traffic signals and additional turning lanes.

The study suggests that the resort, which attracts 1.2 million visitors annually, won't see a significant increase in traffic, because only a small portion of customers will visit the casino and nothing else. That's because the 2004 gambling law says customers at resort casinos must spend money elsewhere before playing the slots.

Magna Entertainment
The community impact report for The Meadows, submitted by Magna Entertainment Corp., which is in the process of selling the racetrack in Washington County, provided technical reports on environmental, utility and traffic issues while giving scant details about the plans for the casino itself.

A traffic study noted that the casino is to be developed along Racetrack Road at about the same time as the new Tanger Factory Outlet Center. The influx of traffic from both could create the need for road widening and several new traffic signals in the area near the Interstate 79 interchange at the border of North Strabane and South Strabane townships, the report said.

The report estimated more than 1,000 vehicles an hour may pass through the area to get to the casino at peak times on weekends, and about the same number may show up for the new retail center, with perhaps 20 percent of the visitors crossing over for both purposes.