Casino foes have their say before board
SCRANTON - Anti-casino activists had a rare good day in front of the state Gaming Control Board yesterday while the bank accounts of two proposed Philadelphia casinos took a big hit.
SCRANTON - Anti-casino activists had a rare good day in front of the state Gaming Control Board yesterday while the bank accounts of two proposed Philadelphia casinos took a big hit.
Casino-Free Philadelphia members, who disrupted the board's meeting last month in Philadelphia until board members gave up and left, were allowed to speak yesterday.
The board also voted to reject requests from Philadelphia's casinos, SugarHouse and Foxwoods, to postpone paying their $50 million gaming-license fees.
The fees were due in August, but the casinos asked for a delay, complaining that their projects have been stymied by City Council legislation and groups like Casino-Free Philadelphia.
The casinos, in their requests, said the debt service on the $50 million fees would cost $400,000 or more per month.
Mary DiGiacomo Colins, the board's chairwoman, yesterday said that those delays and the opposition that caused them were "not unexpected," and that it would be unfair to deprive state taxpayers of $100 million in gaming fees.
Colins last month adjourned the board's meeting after Casino-Free Philadelphia protesters demanded a chance to speak about SugarHouse and Foxwoods. She said it would be inappropriate for the board to hear those comments while considering the requests from Foxwoods and SugarHouse on the gaming fees.
With that issue now settled, Colins allowed two Casino-Free Philadelphia founders, Daniel Hunter and Jethro Heiko, to speak for 20 minutes at the end of the board's meeting. She also allowed a third founder, Anne Dicker, to speak for three minutes. Dicker is challenging state Sen. Vince Fumo, a key proponent of the casino legislation, in next year's Democratic primary.
Hunter and Heiko spent much of their time recounting their efforts to oppose casinos near neighborhoods and complaining about being largely shut out of the gaming licensing process.
Dicker said the board has "shown little more than outright contempt for the citizens of Pennsylvania and especially the voters of Philadelphia."
Both casinos would be built on the Delaware riverfront, with Foxwoods in South Philly and SugarHouse in Fishtown.
"Having casinos that are this close to residential neighborhoods doesn't make sense," Hunter told the board.
Heiko said he and his neighbors on Allen Street, near the SugarHouse location, are worried about the casino's impact on their homes. Heiko purchased his house in May 2006, about four months after SugarHouse applied for a license and identified its location.
Heiko called the board "completely irresponsible" for not listening to Casino-Free Philadelphia, which has called for a 1,500-foot buffer between casinos and neighborhoods. Such a buffer would force SugarHouse and Foxwoods to move to other sites.
"We believe strongly that we can lead a protracted delay forever in the construction of these casinos," Heiko vowed.
"We believe that if they are built that we can simply shut them down with no more than 25 people by blocking roads because they are in such close proximity to our homes." *