Ask any opponent or supporter of the Nittany Mall casino about the project’s status and most of them will either say it is a done deal or it is still awaiting a decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Those who know the Pa. Supreme Court Justices have not yet decided and ruled about the casino’s license are correct!
If you drive past that empty former Macy’s store at the mall, you will notice that not only is the parking lot starting to disintegrate, but the building itself is beginning to crumble. Those things will not change this summer or even next summer because in the unlikely event the casino license is issued, a vacant Macy’s store cannot be remodeled into a brand-new casino overnight.
Don’t plan to see construction starting at the mall anytime soon and here’s why: The PA Supreme Court’s calendars for April and May have already been posted online and the legal arguments about the casino’s license are not included there. No arguments will be heard in June because the Court does not hear arguments during their Administrative Sessions. The earliest time for the casino license arguments to be heard will be September 2024 – so there goes this summer!
Watch for the Pa. Supreme Court to eventually deny the issuance of the license because of the valid legal challenges that are meticulously described here in the initial 247-page lawsuit filed three weeks before the Pa. Gaming Control Board’s public hearing in State College held at the Penn Stater on Aug. 16, 2021. The non-winning bidder filed the lawsuit against the winning bidder because they are confident of eventual success when the final decision is made. Now is a realistic time for the Nittany Mall to start hoping for another anchor store. How many real anchor stores do you honestly believe they have there now?
Daniel Materna
Howard
Where Do PSU Trustee Candidates Stand on University Gambling Policy
Prior to this year’s Penn State alumni trustee election, I distributed a questionnaire asking all five alumni trustee candidates where they stand on Penn State’s advertisement of addictive gambling products to students, whether they support the establishment of a university gambling policy and what they will do to protect students from gambling addiction if they are elected.
These are softball questions that should not be controversial. Nevertheless, the candidates provided very different responses:
- Matt McGloin and Alvin DeLevie believe Penn State should not be advertising gambling to students. They favor immediately establishing a university gambling policy to educate students about the dangers of gambling addiction, to help students who are struggling with gambling addiction, and to protect Penn State student athletes and the integrity of Penn State athletics programs from gambling-related harms.
- Brandon Short and Steve Wagman did not directly answer the questions on the questionnaire, but instead simply restated that the Penn State Board of Trustees will not take a position regarding the development of the proposed casino at the Nittany Mall.
- Carl Nassib did not respond to the questionnaire (despite repeated contact attempts).
If you are eligible to vote in this year’s alumni trustee election, I strongly encourage you to vote for Matt McGloin and Alvin DeLevie. Mr. McGloin and Mr. DeLevie are the only candidates in this election who say they will take constructive action to protect Penn State students from gambling addiction.
For further information, the full report for the questionnaire is available at saynocasino.org/psutrustees/.
Andrew Shaffer
State College
