Casino-Free Philadelphia Find us on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube & Twitter Find us on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube & Twitter
✦ Casino-Free Philadelphia’s mission is to stop casinos from coming to Philadelphia and close any that open.
Casino-Free Campaigns 2006: Operation Transparency 2007: No Way Without Our Say 2007: Philly’s Ballot Box 2008: Operation Hidden Costs 2006: Operation Transparency 2007: No Way Without Our Say 2007: Philly’s Ballot Box 2008: Operation Hidden Costs
destination gambling vs. convenience gambling
SugarHouse Site
Foxwoods Site ?
Market East Proposal 87,700 daily rail passenger s 118,700 daily bus passenger s
Predatory Gambling
State-sponsored predatory gambling The practice of using gambling to prey on human weaknesses as a method for government to raise money for public services.
The gambling trade and our government are turning Americans away from being small savers and into habitual bettors.
70% to 90% of casino profits come from 10% of the gamblers
But isn’t it voluntary?
in the actual language of the casino industry, they want players to “play to extinction”
“Near misses are perfectly tuned to stoke the addiction.” Discover Magazine, Feb. 12, 2009
✦ 24-hour accessibility ✦ ATM machines easily available ✦ Free alcohol ✦ And more... Predatory Marketing Practices
The Casinos’ Faulty Pitch
The Casino Industry ✦ Convenience casinos draw from neighborhoods. ✦ Recreation budget displacement. ✦ People go to closest convenience casino. ✦ Slots parlors have fewer employees per revenue generated than other industries.
Hidden Costs Casinos “create expensive police, infrastructure and social impacts, and are likely to leave the city with a net loss of jobs and deficits.” Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority July 2007 report
✦ Crime ✦ Business & Employment ✦ Suicide ✦ Illness ✦ Regulatory Costs ✦ As much as $285 million per year For every 1 dollar in revenue, there are 3 dollars in costs.
Who is being targeted?
Presentation to PA Gaming Control Board by PhiladelphiaPark Casino & Racetrack, October 22, 2008
Is the market saturated?
How we got here.
Act 71: The PA Gaming Law ✦ Originally a 33-line bill applying to horse racing ✦ Sat in the House for 47 days, and Senate for 100 days, without amendment ✦ On eve of Senate vote, Sen. Fumo replaced 33 lines with 144 pages ✦ House passed bill after midnight on July 4, 2004, without public hearings or input
$ $ The Source of Support for Act 71 More than $6 million donated by gambling industry to state political campaigns between January 2000 and July Tad Decker Loaned $100,000 to Rendell’s campaign (since repaid) Former Chairman of the PA Gaming Control Board Family Foundation of Lewis Katz Friend of Rendell Foxwoods Investor Family Foundation of Ron Rubin Campaign contributor Foxwoods Investor Richard Sprague Criminal defense laywer for Sen. Fumo SugarHouse investor Sen. Fumo $250,000 from the gambling industry Gov. Rendell $1.7 million from the gambling industry
The driving forces: a senator from Philadelphia a governor from Philadelphia
Act 71 Vote in the State Senate: 30 in favor, 20 opposed all 7 senators from Philadelphia in favor
Act 71 Vote in the State House: 113 in favor, 88 opposed all 26 representatives from Philadelphia in favor
What about the Supreme Court?
Today:
Both casinos frozen
Pending lawsuits
Video poker proposal a threat and an opportunity
How we can win.
A Declaration of Independence from Casinos
We The People.