"It would have been fabulous:" Decision to reject Kenosha casino is the talk of the town

KENOSHA (WITI) -- Those who live and work in the Kenosha area are certainly voicing their opinions on the governor's decision to rule against the proposed Kenosha casino project.

It's clearly Friday night at one of Kenosha's hot spots. The bar area is packed, yet a bank of gambling machines sits empty.

Perhaps the sting of the news that the Kenosha casino will not be built is a bit too fresh.

"Whenever you're surrendering 5,000 jobs in a local community as small as this that's trying to thrive, you made a mistake," said Mike Neuman, Kenosha resident.

In the time FOX6 News spent talking with locals, we didn't find anyone who was relieved that the proposed casino had been given the no-go.

Paul Dickson lives in Illinois but works right near the proposed casino location. He says he'd been planning to make one or two trips a week to play there.

"It was an opportunity to have a casino that was closer to me and not have to travel to other places," said Dickson.

Even those who say they're not much into gambling were sad to see the casino plan rejected.

"In this economic time, it seemed like it was the right thing at the right time and like she said location, location, location. You've got Milwaukee to the north and Chicago to the south, Lake Geneva to the west, we're in the best location in the country for something like this, it would have been fabulous," said Pam Tlany, Kenosha resident.

Those we spoke with called the governor's decision an opportunity missed.

"I think it was going to bring a lot of good jobs, a lot of good growth, I think it was going to bring a lot of growth for the state and the area so yea, I'm kind of sad to see it get voted down," said Brian Nord, works in Kenosha area.

Most of the folks we spoke with today say the loss of the jobs is the main reason they were disappointed with the governor's decision.