The boulder-stacked hillsides and amber fields of Gettysburg still stir awe and romance 143 years after the great Civil War battle was fought there. No wonder that the idea of putting a casino not far from those hallowed hillsides and fields is an unsavory proposition for so many. Opponents of the proposed Crossroads Gaming Resort and Spa convened at Gettysburg College on Wednesday to bend the collective ear of the Gaming Control Board, and John Messeder of the Gettysburg Times has the story:

"James K. Palmisano, of Franklin Township, a commander in the Sons of Confederate Veterans, compared the Gettysburg battlefield to the crash site of Flight 93, accusing the would-be casino operators of disregard for the nation's fallen heroes. 'A group of American citizens acting heroically decided if death must come it would be bought dearly,' he said of the aircraft passengers who attempted to take control of one of the hijacked airplanes Sept. 11, 2001. 'Would you place a casino on the road to Shanksville, Pa., today?' he asked the three gaming Control Board members ... Countering the nay-sayers, Pro Casino Adams County co-chair Jeff Klien said the proposed casino site is not on, near or adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park. He listed several developments which have been built on historically significant ground, among them Gettysburg Area High School, Gettysburg Country Club, and East Cavalry Heights Mobile Home Park."

... No Casino Gettysburg, a self-explanatory grassroots group, says 86 percent of the speakers at the hearings were against the casino: "Susan Star Paddock, chairperson of No Casino Gettysburg, commented: 'Since the purpose of the hearings was to determine community support of the casino, we believe the evidence seen by the board shows overwhelming opposition. Chance has not satisfied this criteria of garnering community support, so we feel the board is justified in denying their license at the close of official testimony on June 2.'" Chance Enterprises is the name of the group behind the Crossroads casino.

... Ammunition against the Gettysburg preservationists comes in the form of Vicksburg, Miss., site of one of the Civil War's most famous Dixieland battlefields. Larry Gawronski, president of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, testified yesterday that Vicksburg's riverboat casinos -- including one operated by would-be Pittsburgh casino developer Isle of Capri -- have been a boon to the region's economy, and haven't had an adverse effect on the Vicksburg National Military Park, reports the Evening Sun of Hanover.

Dispatches from the east
Sandra Shea of the Philadelphia Daily News has a quiz for you, and it's all about casino design:

1. The size of a single slots parlor, including the nongaming areas like shopping and restaurants, will be comparable to:

A. Home Depot on Columbus Boulevard.

B. Two Eagles football fields.

C. Four Eagles football fields.

The answer is C. The questions are Philly-centric, but Pittsburghers should be asking, and getting answers to, these questions too. The proposed Harrah's Station Square Casino, for example, would have 400,000 square feet of floor space for gaming, shops and restaurants, equivalent to seven football fields.

... The state Harness Racing Commission is meeting today, and plans to transfer ownership of The Meadows racing license to Millennium Gaming, the investment group that bought the Washington County racetrack last November.

Odds and ends
Coming soon to Atlantic City: A 13th casino, thanks to Morgan Stanley ... Chris Foreman of the Tribune-Review says a man who thought he was investing his money in a Fayette County Indian casino is closer to getting his money back: "When Ernest and Marilyn Liggett described the possibility of an American Indian casino for the barren streets of Brownsville, Kermith R. Sonnier Sr. thought of the growth that gaming spurred in Kinder, La. [Sonnier] invested more than $325,000 with the Liggetts in 2003 and 2004 and expected a 2.25 percent share in the project. [U.S.] District Judge Joy Flowers Conti issued a $358,450 judgment on Monday in favor of Sonnier." ... Gambling begets millions of addicts, who go untreated, says the McAlester News-Capital ... The mayor of Lake Charles, La., isn't endorsing any of the plans to reopen the two shuttered Harrah's riverboat casinos ... Evangeline Downs in Kentucky wants full casino gambling, and the state Senate may oblige ... Pittsburgh's poker machine kingpin returns to prison ... More from the P-G: Penn Hills council supports the Isle of Capri and the Lower Hill casino ... Good for a laugh: "This year's JCM/AGA Golf Classic, an annual gaming industry fundraising event, raised $75,000 for the National Center for Responsible Gaming to help fund future gambling research and responsible gaming programs."

That's $75,000 for research into responsible gambling. Meanwhile, irresponsible gamblers can lose that much in an hour.