Students collect signatures favoring SC casino

BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) — A group of college students in the Lowcountry is collecting petition signatures supporting plans for a casino and resort near Hardeeville.

The Beaufort Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/yOOMih ) the students are not interested in gambling, but in the jobs the project will bring. Developers have said the casino and 400-room luxury hotel would create as many as 4,700 jobs statewide.

One of the students is Ryan Baggot, a senior hospitality management student at USC-Beaufort. Baggot says he heard about the casino in in class and is convinced it should be built.

The students have already collected more than 200 names on petitions they plan to present to Gov. Nikki Haley asking her support. The governor’s office has said while South Carolina needs jobs, there’s a better way than a casino.

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Information from: The Beaufort Gazette, http://www.beaufortgazette.com