Casino Opponents Hold Public 'Community Groundbreaking'

Casino-Free Philadelphia to publicly protest SugarHouse's private groundbreaking

For Immediate Release

Casino-Free Philadelphia ("CFP") will hold a press event and demonstration at the SugarHouse construction site tomorrow, just before and during the casino's ceremonial groundbreaking. The CFP event will take place outside the wire fence surrounding the property and will be open to the public, as opposed to the casino event, which will be inside a guarded fence and closed to all but invited guests.

WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m.

WHERE: The intersection of Frankford and Delaware Avenues

The demonstration will begin with brief remarks by community leaders who will also be available for interviews before and after their remarks. Demonstrators will display anti-casino banners and voice their opposition to SugarHouse. After the speeches, sidewalk chalk will be distributed and citizens will be invited to write down ideas for waterfront development that does not include casinos. Once the SugarHouse press event starts, organizers have told participants to watch for a "special surprise."

"Our public event will be held by community leaders and citizens of Philadelphia, and for Philadelphia. SugarHouse's private, fenced-off event will be held by politicians and Chicago developer Neil Bluhm, for Bluhm and for those politicians." says Dan Hajdo, a Casino-Free Philadelphia volunteer.

David McKenna, another volunteer and spokesperson for Casino-Free Philadelphia added, "Our vision for this stretch of waterfront involves uses that will benefit the city and its residents. The SugarHouse vision is a predatory industry exploiting our city, our friends, colleagues and families, with Neil Bluhm as the main beneficiary."

CFP has fought for and won greater transparency in the political process and has recently engaged in direct action that takes aim at a new target, the financial vulnerability of SugarHouse . Several weeks ago, CFP called on lenders such as PNC Bank to stop lending to the SugarHouse casino. On Sept. 29, wearing T-shirts that read "Bankrupting Casinos Before They Bankrupt Us," 14 protestors were arrested for blockading the entrance of the SugarHouse construction site while over 30 other members of CFP chanted slogans in support.

This morning, CFP presented officials at PNC Bank with CFP's newly issued "Snake Eyes" study, which details the economic reasons why SugarHouse will eventually fail. "Lending to SugarHouse is a bad idea," says Hajdo. "It amounts to the same sort of reckless, irresponsible investment that got us into the deepest economic slump since the Great Depression."

Speakers at the event will also describe the growing coalition of community groups joined together to oppose the predatory gambling trade, and they will present evidence to refute the claims of casino proponents. "Independent economists have concluded that for every one casino job created, three jobs are lost," says Hajdo. "All the data indicate that urban casinos are not good for local economies."

Casino-Free Philadelphia's mission is to stop casinos from coming to Philadelphia and close any that open. The benefits of casinos can never outweigh the social and economic costs from an industry reliant on addiction to survive. Visit us online at www.CasinoFreePhila.org.

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