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Philly Witnesses Opening of First Casino Sans Incidents

Posted on September 24th, 2010

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Philadelphia, with the SugarHouse Casino opening just a few hours ago, is now the largest city in the United States that has a casino. It took six years for this to happen, as gambling was already legalized in the state of Pennsylvania in 2004. Since then, nine other casinos have commenced operations amidst delays and protests all across the state. That is not to say that a number of parties have also thrown their support towards the establishment of these facilities. The Thursday opening of the Philadelphia’s first casino drew thousands of gaming enthusiasts, as well as onlookers who just wanted to see what the facility looks like. Inside SugarHouse are slot machines totaling 1,600 and 40 table games.

The casino, located at the Delaware River waterfront, has so far attracted good crowds since its charity run throughout the week. Wendy Hamilton, the facility’s general manager, said, “We can’t wait to welcome all the players. “The fact that this was a four- to five-year process, it makes it all the more exciting.” On Monday and Wednesday, test runs were conducted, all with favorable reviews and no untoward incidents except for a few silent protests by opposing groups. The holder of the title as America’s largest city with a casino used to be Detroit, with a population of 910,000. Philadelphia, with a population of 1.55 million has officially eclipsed the city in Michigan. On the part of the state’s gaming board, the chairman Gregory Fajt said that after delays brought about by proceedings from protestors of the community, government agencies and jilted bidders that were rejected with their license bids, he is excited about the SugarHouse opening. Fajt adds, “There was a lot of litigation in Philadelphia that we did not have in other parts of the state. The public has to understand that these delays were not the result of the developer getting cold feet.”

The opening still saw some protestors though. Community organization Casino-Free Philadelphia launched protests on opening day. Casino patrons who can’t wait to get their hands on the sparkling new tables and machines shouted “Go home!” at the protestors, who despite being greatly outnumbered, totaling only a few dozen, carried placards that read “Reclaim Our Neighborhoods” and “Reclaim Our Jobs.” The spokesman of the group, Dan Hajdo, said members also gathered outside the casino and unveiled a mural showing the waterfront without the casino building. Obviously, their proceedings were overpowered by the excited casino guests. The members went on to monitor any suspect activity such as intoxicated customers or kids being left in cars with parents inside the casino. No such incidents were reported.

As for the second casino to be built in Philly, the status is still up in the air, much to the relief of the groups against the casino. The enforcement division of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is currently devising plans to revoke the license that it had issued months ago to Foxwoods. The company has finally admitted that as of the moment, it lacks funds to complete the construction of a casino, according to Richard McGarvey, a spokesman for the Board. Foxwoods failed to meet a deadline set for December last year to provide the Board data on financing design and construction, and has since then incurred fines every day.

As of the moment, the officials of the state are just happy to see the opening of at least one casino in the city, which has given employment to more or less 850 people. Casinos across the state have provided the government tax revenue amounting to $4.3 billion. Sixty percent of this, according to Fajt, has been funneled to reductions in property and wage taxes. SugarHouse is expected to give 4 percent of its gross revenue to the city government. To that, Fajt remarked, “It’s going to be a real benefit to the city. They’re going to be able to use that money however they want to use it.” The police were also at hand to maintain peace in the opening, with ten officers in the vicinity to increase the area’s patrols. Officers commented that it was just another normal day, with just more people converging on one building to witness its opening.