When it was time last week for the public to weigh in on the three proposals under consideration for a casino license in Prince George’s County, one appeared to enjoy, by far, the greatest support among community leaders and other residents: the one for MGM National Harbor.

At public hearings before a state commission, many residents said National Harbor was the best fit because it is removed from residential neighborhoods and is an established commercial and employment center.

“National Harbor is already an entertainment, shopping, tourist and convention destination. It makes sense to put this venue there,” said Zeno W. St. Cyr II, president of the Riverbend Citizens Homeowners Association in Fort Washington. “If the lottery commission selects the National Harbor site, then that would only further enhance the property as the economic engine that it already is and will only create an even larger employment hub in this part of the county.”

The three sites under consideration for Maryland’s sixth casino are within five miles of one another in an area of southern Prince George’s County where residents have long grumbled about limited job opportunities, shopping and entertainment.

And all three are trying hard to curry favor with the locals: Penn National Gaming has promised to return “100 percent of its profits” from a $700 million casino at Rosecroft Raceway to the Prince George’s County community. Greenwood Racing offered to pay for $100 million in improvements to Indian Head Highway if the state approves a $761 million Parx casino in Fort Washington. And MGM announced that Radio One owner Cathy Hughes and her son would invest $40 million in a $925 million casino overlooking the Capital Beltway at National Harbor, adding a prominent African American stake to MGM’s proposal.

At the hearings of the Maryland Video Lottery Facility Location Commission, some residents spoke against gambling in general. A few argued for Penn National and Parx, saying their proposals would bring much-needed economic development. Others said they found the Penn National and Parx promises hard to believe.

Still others asked the panel to protect their neighborhoods and historic districts. They said their biggest concern was that the state pick the site that would have the least effect on their residential lifestyle.

“I think it is going to be a big, gaudy building on Indian Head Highway,” said Ron Weiss, a retired Air Force officer who has lived in Fort Washington for 30 years and who testified against the Parx proposal. “It just clashes with what we are used to and what we came here for.”

National Harbor, a 300-acre mini-city on the banks of the Potomac River, has the infrastructure needed for a casino at a location near interstates 495 and 295, its supporters said. A casino there, they said, would be convenient for them without encroaching on their back yards.

National Harbor “is the best location. It is the most accepted we have locally,” Del. Jay Walker (D-Prince George’s), told the panel Wednesday during the hearing on the Parx proposal. He said that at public meetings he held on the casino proposals, most residents surveyed expressed a preference for the National Harbor site.