An Open Letter to the Residents of Tewksbury From Penn National Gaming

Originally published in the Lowell Sun, here is an open letter to Tewksbury residents from Tim Wilmott, President and Chief Operating Officer for Penn National Gaming, also sent to Tewksbury Patch:

As the President and Chief Operating Officer of Penn National Gaming, I am writing to share our company’s excitement in partnering with the residents of Tewksbury on a more than $200 million dollar economic development project that will generate more than $4 million in new revenue annually for the Town, as well as create approximately 1,500 new local area jobs.

The location of our proposed slots-only casino is 300 Ames Pond Drive, close to Interstate 495 and Route 133. We carefully chose this location because it is set back from Route 133 on heavily wooded property that is large enough to provide a significant buffer for area residents and will have minimal traffic impact on the local roads given the convenient access from 495. We are also commissioning a traffic study to identify potential road improvements that we will fund independently.

Ultimately the decision to host this project in Tewksbury will be up to you, the residents of Tewksbury, who will have two opportunities to make your voice heard: The first is at a Town Meeting in August to approve a necessary zoning change, and the second will be at the ballot box early this fall. Our commitment to you is to work tirelessly in the coming days and weeks to provide you as much information as possible about our company and our proposal so that you can make an informed decision.

Our company has grown from what was a single thoroughbred racetrack operator in Central Pennsylvania, to become the largest operator of regional gaming facilities in North America, with 27 facilities across the country ¬ some of which are very similar to Tewksbury, such as Bangor, Maine; Perryville, Maryland; and Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The key to our success has been our deep commitment to partnering with our local communities and serving as a good corporate citizen.

We pride ourselves on hiring and training our employees locally, buying our goods and services whenever possible locally, and are proud to provide our time and resources - $12.7 million in 2012 alone - to worthwhile charities and civic organizations in our host communities. If we are welcomed into your community, you can be 100% assured we will do the same in Tewskbury.

Over the next several weeks you will hear a lot about our proposal for Tewksbury ¬ from supporters and opponents alike. I respectfully request that you keep an open mind, learn about the issue, and ask questions. We hope you’ll find our website, www.YesForTewksbury.com, a helpful resource. Our office at 1120 Main Street is also open to you and your friends and family to stop by and ask questions. 

We look forward to building relationships with you and, hopefully, bringing this significant economic development project to fruition in Tewksbury.

We've also attached a copy of the letter, dated July 24, to this post for your perusal.