Paper City responds to Mayor's decision

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WWLP) - Paper City Development had been working for more than two years to try and bring a casino to the Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke.  Until last week, they thought that Holyoke mayor Alex Morse would not be supporting a casino in his city. 

22News reporter Ryan Walsh traveled to Florida to meet with the President of Paper City Development.

Monday's announcement has Paper City interested again.  It plans to submit an application in Holyoke.  President Joe Lashinger told 22News he didn't hesitate once he heard about the mayor changing his mind.

"After I picked myself up off the floor, I deliberated for all of one second and reached into the drawers, the file cabinets and pulled out our Holyoke Wyckoff plan and put it right back on track", says Lashinger.

Lashinger told 22News he hopes to meet with Mayor Morse, but their new proposal will likely be with another casino developer, not Hard Rock, who they originally partnered with.  

Lashinger says when their company originally brought in Hard Rock executives to meet with Mayor Morse, he didn't ask any questions.  He also had a highway engineer prepared with a presentation on traffic and construction and the mayor wouldn't even watch the presentation.

Lashinger believes that his companies proposal will have a fair chance in Holyoke and says that the Holyoke location near Mt. Tom is the best destination resort casino location in all of Western Massachusetts.