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SORRY ABOUT THE BIG BLOCK OF TEXT - THIS SITE DOESN'T ALLOW FORMATTING? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks for your article. As one of the hundred in the party that was mentioned, I'd like to offer a few thoughts.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------a) This opposition is certainly more than a few college kids. I myself am a 29year old professional photographer- and honestly, I'd much rather be focusing on my job than spending countless hours supporting the folks at Casino-Free Philadelphia. And I don't even live anywhere near where these things are supposed to be built! But the issue is of great concern to all of us . Not just the casinos, but the process as to how they came about, and how they are being forced upon the city by the state, against the majority of the population's will. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you don't know the backstory to the situation in Philadelphia, a good place to start is this article: http://www.phillymag.com/articles/gaming_the_system/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------b) I have a particular issue with this quote:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Most people in Philadelphia have accepted the concept of legalized gambling in their city and the type of revenue it would bring in, especially during these hard times where more and more municipalities are looking for that added revenue stream."-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The issue isn't really with the issue of the revenue they might bring in (although yes, given the economy, and how it's particularly affecting the casino industry, we could certainly question those promised benefits) - the issue is more with the lack of planning and analysis of any costs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Look, when you go to gamble, you like to know the stakes and the odds, right? And if I told you that I was going to give you $50, then that certainly sounds nice, but if I told you that I was going to give you $50 and then I drive away with your car, it's no longer such a hot deal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Smart gamblers know what they might lose. But the desperate people who fall vulnerable to gambling addiction tend to only think about the winnings, without noticing how much they're losing. That's the kind of decisionmaking that Pennsylvania's done by looking at the quick fix option that looks like easy money on the surface... but they haven't done a proper cost/benefit analysis. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sure, the casinos promise revenue and jobs. But what if we lose more jobs than we gain because of the harm that they do to small businesses? Or what if we spend more on policing them than we get from that revenue stream? Again, not such a hot deal anymore. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If we're going to gamble on our city, we can at least make an informed wager. Instead of just looking at what the casino industry is promising us, how about looking at what they've delivered elsewhere?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out these charming little tidbits of information. Sure, they've been hand-picked by the "hippies" - but tell me why Philadelphia might somehow be immune to these repercussions... http://www.phillycasinovoices.org/factbook/factbook_pages.pdf-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -jj