Visitors gathered as early as 7 a.m. yesterday for the much-anticipated opening of SugarHouse Casino at 1002 Delaware Avenue. The casino expects two million visits annually, but despite the outward optimism many residents of Fishtown and others in Philadelphia have concerns.
Along the outside of the casino’s entrance two opposing views stood only inches away from each other. The excited casino staff and gamblers on one side and protesters from Casino-Free Philadelphia on the other. Casino-Free Philadelphia’s mission is to lead casinos in Philadelphia to bankruptcy. The group also protested at the proposed location for SugarHouse Casino in February of 2009.
Ed Verrall lives across the street from the casino and voiced his many concerns about the casino’s affect on the neighborhood. Verrall is a member of Casino-Free Philadelphia and was arrested with other members for protesting the use of casinos as an economic development tool.
“The place hasn’t even opened yet and they’re filled up already,” said Verrall. “You’re going to have thousands of cars looking for parking spots and there’s six cops down there.”
For some residents of Fishtown the casino means more jobs and benefits to local businesses. According to Deputy Mayor Richard Negrin, a total of 900 full-time, permanent jobs were provided through the casino’s opening and just over half of them are being filled by residents of Philadelphia.
“I actually have one tenant of all my tenants got a job at the casino. One job,” said Frank Ricci, a local property owner. “He was out of work on unemployment and he got a job there but that’s only one…Of all the people in the neighborhood he’s the only one I know that got a job there.”
Another person from the neighborhood who received a job from SugarHouse Casino is Victor Furxha. Furxha, a native of Albania, worked in electronic repair on Front Street and Girard Avenue for 12 years and is now a slot technician at the casino. He said the health benefits and location are the two main reasons he’s excited to be employed by SugarHouse.
Despite the many jobs SugarHouse Casino brings to the community, some are hesitant to accept the casino as a community asset.
“Gambling? What do you get out of gambling,” said Fishtown resident Michael Myers. “You have a community surrounded and a lot of people on SSI that only get one check and they say ‘how convenient!’ and walk to the casino and blow all their money.”
Still, the chance to win money is appealing to many residents around the casino.
“We’ve been waiting so long for this to open,” said Susan Ongirski. “This is great I love it! I think [the people in Fishtown] have to get used to it because there’s still a lot of people that are against the SugarHouse, but there’s a percentage of people that are for SugarHouse which is fantastic.”
Patricia Clarkson counts herself among those that are excited. “It’ll be a big moment if I win the jackpot,” Clarkson said. “I need to win me some money.”
Across the street from where Clarkson and Ongirski stood in line was Casino-Free Philadelphia, who were singing a slightly different tune. Clad in black and red T-shirts adorned with “Bankrupting Casinos before they Bankrupt Us” and “We the People REJECT CASINOS,” the group held clipboards for petitions and spoke to the crowd regarding their agenda.
Daniel Hajdo supports Casino-Free Philadelphia. “I know this city and this neighborhood needs protection from predatory tactics like offering credit for slots, like offering free alcohol,” he said. “The casino relies on addiction to make profits so they aren’t going to deal with these problems.”
Part of Casino-Free Philadelphia’s first Casino Town Watch is to keep a look out for children left in cars in the SugarHouse parking lot and patrons leaving intoxicated.
The group was demonstrating what the Waterfront could be for Philadelphia’s families—family-friendly entertainment as opposed to slots and table games.
“Our volunteers will be able to protect their neighborhoods against the predatory tactics of SugarHouse Casino,” said Zachary Hershman, “slots on credit, free booze, open all hours, not enough ID checks, not enough security….because city, state and casino authorities have failed to protect our neighborhood we need to take matters into our own hands.”
Protecting the neighborhood is a concern for Fishtown residents as well as Casino-Free Philadelphia, but many residents are still hesitant to pass judgment on SugarHouse. Tray Duffy is a resident of Fishtown who is taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the casino’s impact on the area.
“Obviously, [the casino] is here and it’s going to be here,” he says. “It’s going to have some type of effect but I’m not going to be the person that’s going to make a snap judgment without really finding out what the outcome is going to be.”
Great article, but look who wrote it.. Canios bring in alot of money, but it also brings in the element of mankinds greed. With that come crime. We have seen it time and time again. It looks good on the outside, but boy oh boy look at the inside.
Have fun, stay well and say your prayers for a better america.
Bill Brimberry
I can certainly understand the feelings of those who live around it and would not want a casino opening up in front of my house either. I think gambling can be fun, but the location should also be considered and if it is in a poor area, it will most certainly divert some money from people who need it the most. The free liquor and number of people who will be leaving, possibly drunk, is also a very important concern!
This article was written by students who do not live in the neighborhood, but are studying Fishtown. That’s the entire point of this Philly Neighborhoods blog. I think they took an unbiased professional approach to a very touchy topic.
Yeah this written by the students living in Fishtown. Theyre hoping that it would be appreciated.