Casinos

Casino Free Philadelphia takes action this Tuesday at Sugar House as it launches the "In The Red" campaign to get casino investors to drop plans for Philadelphia slots.

As casino companies and government officials continue to claim that putting predatory gambling institutions in the heart of our city will benefit us (and a month after Temple University Health Systems shut down one of the last remaining hospitals in the city that accepted all Medicaid plans), check out these stories of health care crisis from the people of Atlantic City. The first casino in Atlantic City opened in 1978, with the promise of revitalizing the city's economy. But as I watched these interviews in "Health Care Crisis U.S.A."--some of them shot literally in the shadow of the Taj Mahal casino--I wondered: revitalized for who?

This afternoon, people from all over the city gathered at the brand-new No Slots Spot, right across the street from the proposed slots parlor, for an Anti-Casino Circus. "Because when it comes to bringing slots to Philly, it's not a democracy, it's a circus!"

It' hard to believe that today marks nine months to the day when a line-up of politicos from the Governor on down stood end to end in City Hall with Foxwoods exec Michael "You call it an addiction, I call it a client base" Thomas and declared the heart of Philadelphia as their target for the flailing casino industry.

As the casino industry tries to push it's way into the heart of Philadelphia, communities are pushing back. In this piece, we hear highlights from a community forum hosted by the No Casino in the Heart of the City Coalition, with speakers from Asian Americans United & Casino Free Philadelphia. The speakers shed light on the predatory tactics used by the casino industry and explain some of the ways that casinos encourage gambling addiction and target those who can least afford to lose.

After last week's phony hearings by our state and local
governments, we are now moving full steam ahead to Beat the House. In
only 26 days and counting Philadelphia will come together to Beat the
House by entering a local casino to demonstrate the predatory nature of
the gambling industry through smart, strategic actions. And we need you
to make it a huge success. Sign up to volunteer now!

The No Casino in the Heart of the City Coalition sent out this letter today. Sugar House is presenting today to the Gaming Control Board (this time they are not walking out the back door). Also the 11th and Market relocation of Foxwoods is on the agenda for tomorow at City Council, but the coalition will not, "subject our people to the indignity of testifying before governmental bodies who have no apparent interest in what we are saying"

Over in the Inquirer Opinion section David McKenna got run for an insightful piece on next steps in the struggle against slots. Here it is below and the full article here>>.
 
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Far from being an economic windfall, casinos make problems worse.
By David McKenna
The casino express is chugging toward Philadelphia, and local politicians are greasing the rails.

In this short clip, Debbie Wei, Principal at F.A.C.T.S. Charter School in Chinatown, testifies in front of the City Planning Commission.

Yesterday more than 70 Philadelphians headed to Harrisburg to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Hearing for what was supposed to be a "status update" on the Philadelphia casinos.

Instead, what many of us were greeted with was essentially an ambush - the announcement that Foxwoods used the status hearing to announce that they planned to move within a matter of months into the Strawbridge's building.