Gambling and history collide!

As a historian of gambling, I always take issue with the assumption that casinos are somehow antitechtical to history or historic places. They are, of course, part of the flow of history. But the “Gambling vs. History” banner is being unfurled for an epic fight to prevent the slots from spinning near the hallowed ground of Gettysburg.

From newsmax.com:

An investor group has announced plans to open a casino and spa near the historic Gettysburg battlefield site � a project contingent on the group winning a slots license.

According to the History News Network, some historians are upset about the thought of slot machines cranking away only a few miles from the historic battle site many consider to be the turning point in the Civil War.

Critics complain the casino operation would demean one of the nation’s most sacred historic sites, where more than 40,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed during a three-day battle in July of 1863.

Princeton University historian James McPherson, who helped to nix a community planned on part of the Manassas battlefield in Virginia in 1994, said the Gettysburg slots proposal is insulting:

“Nothing could be a greater besmirchment of the sacrifice of the men who fought and died there,” McPherson wrote in an e-mail to The Patriot-News of Harrisburg. “By failing to honor their memory in this fashion, we would dishonor ourselves.”

Historians Miffed at Gettysburg Gambling Proposal

I don’t know where they got “historians” from–they only quoted one. McPherson is, of course, an expert on the Civil War, and I highly recommend his work.

But how is having a slot parlor miles from the battlefield besmirching the memory of those who gave their lives? Is there some kind of radius that has to be respected, like 8 miles is bad but 10 is OK?

Of course, if I was part of the project, I would push it through just to get one of my long-simmering ideas realized: “Gettysburg, The Musical,” a 90-minute casino revue show featuring sequins, showgirls, and all the excitement of one of America’s most storied military engagements.

Now how’s that for gambling vs. history?

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