City Planners Looking At Casino Plans
PHILADELPHIA - While all of Pennsylvania's other casinos -- from the Poconos to Pittsburgh -- have millions coming in every month, Philadelphia's two proposed casino sites are still nothing more than construction sites.
But both casinos now hope to open within a year, Fox 29's Steve Keeley reported.
Work on the SugarHouse casino site is, after two years of delays, moving fast. Yet, developers are still making changes to the casino's plan.
They're meeting Wednesday with the city's planning commission to go over those amendments for the Delaware riverfront casino. That special meeting is being held at the Academy of Natural Sciences at 1 p.m., and it's open to the public.
SugarHouse changed its original look to get in line with what's called the Central Delaware Riverfront Action Plan. The first part of the plan is to get the casino, its planned 3,000 slot machines, a large parking garage and more up and running.
If the blueprints get the OK Wednesday, as expected, SugarHouse hopes to get the final go-ahead to start building its casino.
Michael Mooney, a local business owner, said he's happy to see the project getting under way.
"The city needs the tax dollars, there's a lot of jobs involved -- both construction and full-time jobs, and what this would show is people trying to open a business here in the city of Philadelphia. These people spent a lot of money here. I say let's get it going, get it open, start getting the revenue," Mooney said.
As for whether it will start cleaning up the neighborhood, Mooney said, "I surely think that security will be really upgraded in the neighborhood, as it is in Atlantic City. They don't want people walking out of the casino being mugged or robbed, and I think it will overall spruce up the neighborhood."
We'll likely learn Wednesday if SugarHouse has secured new financing for the project, which it had not done before the last public hearing.
Foxwoods' revised plan to put its casino in the old Strawbridge's store at 8th and Market streets. Will be the next item on the planning commission's agenda Wednesday.
On the anti-casino fight, opponents are now pointing to a new study from the advocacy group Common Cause of Pennsylvania (reported Wednesday morning in the Philadelphia Inquirer) that says the casino industry has contributed $4.3 million to Pennsylvania politicians, the biggest part of that to Gov. Ed Rendell and former Sen. Vince Fumo.
The study says this has allowed what it calls a massive, sustained campaign to expand casino gambling in Pennsylvania with little or no scrutiny whatsoever.
In other gambling news, Pennsylvania lawmakers have voted to keep gaming out of politics.
A state Senate panel unanimously approved a bill that would ban the gambling industry from making political campaign contributions.
The move came two months after the state Supreme Court struck down the previous ban.
