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Goodbye Steel Factory, Hello Casino

Posted by: Tim Halbur

26 May 2009 - 5:00am

Bethelem, PA, long famous for its steel industry, has faced years of hardship when the jobs went away. Locals are pinning their hopes on a new casino opening over the ruins of a steel factory.

"For decades, Georgine Corroda watched from her home across the street as the symbol of the region’s pride, the mighty Bethlehem Steel Company, went from an industrial powerhouse to a vacant wasteland.

By the time the company declared bankruptcy in 2001, the blast furnaces had been cold for nine years, the 20,000-strong work force had largely been dispersed and the property tax base had plummeted, along with values of the homes of Ms. Corroda and her neighbors.

Yet on Friday, when the elegant $743 million Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem opened atop the site of the gigantic ore pit, Ms. Corroda was among the first in line with an ear-to-ear grin that exuded optimism for the area that has been lacking for some time."

Full Story: A Casino Rises in the Place of a Fallen Steel Giant
Source: The New York Times, May 22, 2009
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Even if the report overestimates the costs by a factor of two and underestimates the tax-benefit by a similar amount, the conclusion would be pretty much the same: destination resorts cost local government and taxpayers money.
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