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Casino to save historical site

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania – As reported by Bloomberg: "The Bethlehem Steel Corp. plant that once sprawled across its namesake city in eastern Pennsylvania was shut in 1995. It looks like a decaying ruin.

"…Now, another company is looking to spin fortunes from the 143-year-old site. Las Vegas Sands Corp., the world's largest casino company by market value, is competing for a license to build a casino with 5,000 slot machines to attract gamblers from as far as New York City, less than two hours away. It would anchor shops and condominiums, preserving the steel plant and bringing an initial 1,825 jobs to the former industrial region.

"`You see those big blast furnaces and you get such a sense of history and place,' William Weidner, president of the Las Vegas-based company, said in an interview.

"Las Vegas Sands estimates that the development will draw 5 million visitors a year and pay Bethlehem, a city of 73,000 about 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Philadelphia, at least $10 million annually in taxes. Groups opposing the project include Citizens for a Better Bethlehem, which objects to the prostitution and poverty it says accompanies gambling, and the Alliance for Sustainable Communities-Lehigh Valley, an environmental and human-rights organization.

"…Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan and the city council support the plan. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said it will award five licenses on Dec. 20…"

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