Aug21 |
 |
Foxwoods To ‘Consider’ Other Sites!
Speaking of things that have been going on for enternity: The casinos! Yes, two casinos are slated to open on the waterfront (one in Fishtown, one in Pennsport); they’ve been delayed by neighbors and politicians who realized they can use the casino issue to score political points. Fair enough. Today, Foxwoods (the Pennsport one) has announced it is “considering” additional locations. With that comes the thinking that this whole thing could be slowed down… even… more.
More lawsuits, more delays… remember when we were all going to get wage tax reductions by, like, 2006? Whoops. Also, if you believe that Foxwoods and SugarHouse haven’t already extensively researched possible alternate casino sites in Philadelphia… well, just don’t believe that, okay? Correction: A reader astutely emails, “Like gaming or hate it, the casinos that are operating have ALREADY contributed enough to knock the Wage Tax down by about a quarter point so as of July 1, 2008 the Wage Tax (once as high as 4.96% for residents) is now 3.98%… and it will go even lower based on already legislated city cuts and could go even lower still if gaming revenues increase.” I’m never making a wage tax joke again. BREAKING NEWS: Foxwoods Looking At New Casino Locations [Clout] |
|
|
|
“they’ve been delayed by neighbors and politicians who realized they can use the casino issue to score political points.”
I realize this is just being snarky, but it’s also disingenuous. The Gaming Control Board has had numerous members leave and then go directly to work for the casinos, which is joke since the GCB is supposed to be protecting community interests. The Street administration, which had the most obnoxious record of handing contracts out to anyone with a bag of cash, didn’t put up one iota of resistance when the casinos were proposed.
Bringing gambling to AC was supposed revitalize the city and instead made it into a permanent ghetto. Fishtown and South Philly both ride that edge of upswing/downswing and it seems totally legitimate that the people who live there would be concerned.
I think it’s great that the neighborhoods stood up for themselves instead letting a completely corrupt political system railroad them. Nutter is doing the right thing by insisting there be proper consideration of riverfront development and neighborhood concerns.