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Developers lose battle for Gettysburg

The most recent fight for Gettysburg ended Wednesday when Pennsylvania gambling regulators rejected a proposal for a slot-machine casino near the Civil War battlefield.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awarded five licenses for casinos in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the Pocono Mountains and Bethlehem. Among the 13 applications was a proposal to build a 3,000-slot casino, a luxury hotel and spa, and several restaurants a little more than a mile from a portion of the Gettysburg National Military Park.

The plan divided neighbors, local business owners and preservationists.

"We're very, very grateful," said Susan Star Paddock, chairwoman of the grassroots group No Casino Gettysburg. "The casino would have destroyed our history-based tourist economy."