The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s awarding of the second casino license for the city of Philadelphia to Cordish Companies and Greenwood Racing for Live! Philadelphia was made despite significant local opposition, not only from residents near the casino site in South Philadelphia but from officials of surrounding communities.
Among the most vocal were officials of suburban Delaware County, home to Harrah’s Philadelphia a few miles south of the city line. Delaware County Councilman John McBlain issued a statement to the board that suggested Harrah’s will not survive the new competition.
“Due to the growth of online gambling, the saturation of gaming facilities in the region and the economic climate of the nation, many casinos have experienced a steady decline of business, and the addition of yet another casino in our area poses a serious threat to the sustainability and survival of Harrah’s Casino in Chester, as well as to all local casinos,” McBlain said, according to Pennsylvania Business Daily.
“New Jersey closed four casinos in 2014 and a fifth is expected to close by the end of the year. Delaware spent $8 million to bail out three casinos in the state in 2013 and Delaware lawmakers approved a $10 million financial bailout in July 2014.”
The Delaware County Council, during its November 12 meeting, projected a loss of revenue of as much as $2.5 million per year as a result of the new casino. The county has seen gaming revenue decline 15 percent over the past few years.
Meanwhile, other opposition to the second casino exists within the city government itself. While Cordish Managing Director Joseph Weinberg told the Philadelphia Inquirer he does not expect the delays encountered by SugarHouse, the first city casino—which needed a state Supreme Court order to force city officials to grant the necessary construction permits—the city councilman in whose district the casino site is was not making any promises.
“Tuesday’s decision was the beginning of a process,” Councilman Kenyatta Johnson told the Inquirer. “I am reaching out to community leaders and residents who fear they are getting a neighbor that will bring increased crime and traffic to an already overcrowded area. Those fears must be taken care of, or else the discussion won’t move forward.”
Some of that opposition from community leaders is just as vicious as that which once greeted SugarHouse. “We’ll make the best possible decision for the neighbors, and we’ll continue to fight,” Barbara Capozzi, treasurer of the Sports Complex Special Services District, told the newspaper. Capozzi helped organize a Nov. 12 neighborhood meeting of nearly 700 people opposing the project.
SugarHouse took four years from its approval to its grand opening.
