SugarHouse Casino opens this week in Philly to hoopla and harrumphs

On the casino battleground that is the Delaware River waterfront, this is what victory looks like:

A school of cool blue lamps hovering over a brand-new blackjack table, surrounded by a metal sea of blinking slot machines, with the music of Smash Mouth on the sound system: "All that glitters is gold. ..."

The much-debated, long-delayed SugarHouse Casino is set to open Thursday, the first gambling hall in Philadelphia.

All that's left is to cut a ribbon.

That reality holds joy or sadness for the people, neighborhood groups, and city organizations that have for years fought for or against the coming of the casino.

At the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association, so staunchly opposed that at one point it refused even to meet with casino representatives, there was resignation.

"There's really nothing more we can do right now. It's here," said Matt Ruben, the group president. "We're going to closely monitor it, and hope the worst predictions of the impacts won't come true."

Others exulted at the opening of a 24-hour-a-day casino that's expected to draw two million visitors a year.

"We're all real excited," said Joe Rafter, chairman of the Penn Treaty Special Services District, created to disburse casino money to Fishtown, Northern Liberties, and parts of Kensington.

The first payment of $175,000, made this year, helped nearly two dozen organizations involved in arts, sports, veterans affairs, and schools. For instance, the Hetzell Playground got $61,000 for laying sod and installing a sprinkler system. That has turned the playground into a green oasis.

More money is coming, as the services district is to get $1 million a year from the casino starting in 2012.

And, Rafter said, the casino has helped in other important ways. Twenty percent of gambling-hall jobs - the casino has 800 full-time workers - have gone to people who live in the district, no small thing in a time of high unemployment.

"The casino calls me and says, 'Hey, Joe, who do you use for a baker?' I suggest Kaplan's at Third and Poplar for rye bread. They asked me for a locksmith. I sent them a locksmith from Fishtown. Our whole attitude is, 'This is the neighborhood it's in. Let this be a stimulus.' "

The casino is on North Delaware Avenue, on the border of Fishtown and Northern Liberties. For groups dedicated to stopping its construction, the hoopla that's to surround Thursday's opening feels more like a funeral.

Casino-Free Philadelphia held a candlelight memorial service outside the casino Monday, to voice sadness for people who organizers say are sure to gamble away their savings. Casino-Free Philadelphia was created to stop the development of two planned city casinos, arguing that gambling is a predatory business that worsens crime, domestic violence and poverty, not to mention traffic.

"It's opening, and we had a lot of members expressing a sense of loss after fighting for such a long time," said spokesman Dan Hajdo.

Now, he said, the group plans to launch a long-term campaign to dampen casino earnings by publicizing issues such as gambling addiction. More details were expected Thursday.

Last week, casino workers performed last-minute tasks, pulling plastic sheeting off of handrails, planting trees and shrubs, and checking the operation of 1,600 slot machines and 40 game tables. The first play was scheduled for two test periods on Monday and Wednesday, with proceeds going to charity.

The grounds offer spectacular views of the river and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The interior of the casino looks like a casino. Gaming tables. Slots. Video poker at the bar.

One restaurant is called the Refinery and another is named Jacks, play on the site being the former location of the Jack Frost sugar refinery.

Casino executives led reporters on a tour, touting the easy access afforded by I-95 and I-76, and the table games that include roulette and Pai Gow poker.

"There's something very special about being part of an opening," said SugarHouse general manager Wendy Hamilton. "We walk past each other high-fiving. The level of excitement is amazing."

When builders broke ground 11 months ago, they had the chants of protesters in their ears, at times drowning out the applause of supporters.

Terrence McKenna, the project manager for Keating Consulting, which built the casino, was asked if the design and setting had met the concerns of neighbors.

"What neighbors?" he asked.

It's true that the building isn't in a neighborhood. The casino sits hard on the Delaware River, its back to the water. Out front is a huge parking lot; beyond that, the six-lane barrier of Delaware Avenue and a former industrial area defined by empty buildings and discarded tires.

Some of the closest homes are on Allen Street, where Elizabeth Gallagher has lived for 30 years.

"I think it's good," she said of the casino. "It will bring a lot of jobs in."

Casino executives say they have hired 900 people, 800 of them full time, chosen from among 20,000 applicants.

Blackjack dealer Steve Forchetti was hired after a decade in the mortgage industry - "and we all know how that worked out."

"This is a dream come true," the South Philadelphia man said. A new dealer typically earns $40,000 to $50,000 a year, including tips.

Hamilton, the general manager, said fears had been overblown and the casino would be good for the city and the neighborhood.

What about increases in traffic? "Minuscule," she said.

Crime? "There's more rumors than fact about crime and casinos," she said.

"We want to be a good neighbor," Hamilton said. "We are part of this community."

She said the casino had fine relations with local organizations. For instance, she said, Fishtown Action, one neighborhood group, is "practically part of our team."

That group supported the casino from the start, believing it would revitalize a derelict patch of waterfront and provide needed jobs.

McKenna, the project manager, called the casino an "interim facility," one that will generate money to build a larger enterprise. Construction of a parking garage will eliminate the need for big parking lots. Those lots will provide ground to double the size of the casino, he said.

Ruben, of the Northern Liberties Neighbors, said his group would be paying close attention to how the casino affected the area. Beyond that, there's not much that can be done at this point.

"At the bottom of it, it's a large development project," he noted. "They've gotten their approvals and they're going to open. If they create problems, we'll do everything in our power to get it addressed."