Philly Casino Watch

Is number one good? Being in first place is good, right? Well, Mohegan Sun’s PA slot parlor should know. They ranked number one in a list of East Coast slots for revenue last year. After only one year and they’ve already passed Atlantic City’s slot revenue on a per machine basis. Mohegan Sun currently operates 1,203 slot machines - each of which are pulling in just over $400 a day. Furthermore, Philadelphia Park, PA ranked 3rd, while Meadows Racetrack and Casino and Harrah’s Chester Casino and Racetrack rounded out the top five respectively. Not bad for their first year!

So what does that translate into as a whole for the Pennsylvania Gaming industry? Well, according to the PGCB pulled in $1.04 billion last year, resulting in $572 million in taxes that will go towards property tax relief for PA’s citizens. Not exactly insignificant. Opponents in Philly are gonna be hard pressed to change the state’s course with results like that.

Well, I guess it’s true what they say: “Better later than never.” On his final day in office (Friday, January 4, 2008) Mayor Street issued permits allowing Sugarhouse Casino to use heavy machinery for leveling and grading the building site. The state Department of Environmental Protection also issued Sugarhouse a storm-water discharge construction permit on the same day, knocking down one more obstacle in Sugarhouse’s path. Newly appointed Mayor Nutter will check to make sure the permits were issued properly. The Sugarhouse train steams ahead!

-Jamie

After reading a recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer the other day I had to stop and question myself for a second. We are talking about Fishtown, Philadalphia right? So many of the neighborhood opponents of the casinos seem to think they live in quaint crime free country town with just some “good ol’ fashion down-to-earth folk”. In the article a current resident of Fishtown explains that he will be leaving in search of quiter and safer outskirt, stating that he’d “love a place where kids can run around, have friends right down the street.” And you think that could be found in Fishtown? As someone who regularly walks and drives through Fishtown, I would have to say that it would almost be neglectful to let your kids roam those streets freely. Don’t get me wrong the place is no Compton, L.A. but it certainly isn’t a white picket fence neighborhood either. Also, I sympathize with the subject of the article for having to relocate as a direct result of the casinos and I also recognize that the city of Philadelphia might be losing a fine, well-educated citizen. All I ask is that you don’t paint a false picture for the people who aren’t familiar with the surrounding neighborhoods that have been neglected industrial wastelands for so long.

Oh, and I almost forgot. For everyone who claims they “had no say” in the casino process: You did have a say in the matter…when you voted for your respective government representatives.

That’s right. Three weeks until Sugarhouse breaks ground. On Monday (12/3/2007) the Supreme Court gave Sugarhouse the permission they needed to start building on the old Jack Frost Refinery site. The ruling effectively overode City Council’s refusal to issue Sugarhouse the proper permits needed to start construction. Finally! Foxwoods said that with this ruling in place it too would ask the Supreme Court to bypass city council and issue the permits allowing construction. City Council members said they would challenge the ruling, while neighborhood opponents said they will begin training for their demonstrations and protests. All I have to say is good luck defying the Supreme Court’s decision and good luck chaining yourself to a fence in the middle of December! Undoubtedly, the casino’s opponents options are facing the end of the road, but hey keep an eye on our live camera and watch the protesters and their futile attempts from the warmth of your home. This could actually turn out to be pretty interesting.

For me the establishment of the casinos has been a torturous process. It has been three and a half years since the bill has been passed permitting the operation of slots in the state of Pennsylvania and the largest city in the state has yet to break ground on either the SugarHouse Casino or the Foxwoods Casino.

For those of you who don’t know, the state of Pennsylvania passed a bill back in July of 2004 legalizing the use of slot machine gaming for 14 venues, which at that time had yet to be determined. Since then, a selection process has taken place, awarding licenses to the applicants who best fit the selection criteria. Two of those licenses were given to both the SugarHouse Casino and the Foxwoods Casino by the state and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The locations for both casinos were approved for locations along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. The SugarHouse Casino would be located at the north end of the city, while Foxwoods Casino would be located at the south end.

Now, despite having been approved by the state and selected by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the city of Philadelphia has refused to issue the proper zoning permits to the casinos in response to a vocal minority of local community members opposing the casinos’ establishment. This has led to a multitude of legal battles over who has the right to decide the establishment of the casinos and that is where we are today. It is my belief that the economic and tax revenue implications of slots in Pennsylvania is far too great to ignore. The potential hundreds of millions of dollars per year in tax revenue (the casinos will have a tax rate of 54 percent) would have far reaching effects across the city and state. Furthermore, the city’s riverfront can currently only be described as a primarily tattered industrial wasteland. Anyone denying that is merely delusional. With the exception of the futile efforts to develop Penn’s Landing, which was a modest success at best, the river has remained an absolute waste of a natural resource. Finally, there is an opportunity to change that with the two casinos acting as the catalyst and economic driving force and it would be foolish for the city to turn its back on the opportunity and that’s why I’m PRO-CASINO.