Phony Beacon Hill Numbers Again Disproven

Below is an article included here that highlights the phony job creation numbers promoted on Beacon Hill:

Jobs for 800 full-time and 200 part-time casino employees are nothing to sniff at in tough economic times.

In a pattern that repeats itself as legislators and regulators genuflect before the Casino Vultures, Beacon Hill also rejected monthly statements and any effort that would have offered protection:

...state gambling regulators even rejected the sensible idea of requiring that regular patrons be sent monthly win-loss statements.

Inquirer Editorial: Gaming is a gamble

As the colorful con man in The Music Man would say, friends, we've got gambling "right here in River City."

The question is whether the official opening Thursday of Philadelphia's first casino will mean "Trouble with a capital 'T'," as the mythical Professor Harold Hill forewarned.

Six years after Pennsylvania legalized slots parlors - now upgraded prematurely to full-fledged casinos - the debut of SugarHouse Casino on the banks of the Delaware River is a sobering moment for a city that can ill-afford more trouble.

The utilitarian gambling hall erected on North Delaware Avenue at the border of Fishtown and Northern Liberties puts 1,600 slot machines and 40 card tables within easy reach of neighborhoods across the city, many of them low-income.

With the illusive promise of winnings, look for the casino to feed gambling addictions that will trouble thousands of city residents.

At the ribbon-cutting, don't look for any mention of the social costs of gambling - increases in personal bankruptcies, crime, family problems, and addictions. But the state's protections against problem gambling clearly aren't up to the challenge yet. In fact, state gambling regulators even rejected the sensible idea of requiring that regular patrons be sent monthly win-loss statements.

The former Jenkintown tax collector charged with gambling away tax receipts at Parx - not to mention the seven casino patrons arrested for leaving children outside the Bucks County slots joint - could be a mere warm-up for future problems.

No question, there will be winners in the SugarHouse debut aside from the casino operators, who own what undoubtedly will be a big moneymaker.

Jobs for 800 full-time and 200 part-time casino employees are nothing to sniff at in tough economic times. A special-services district will receive $1 million a year from the casino, starting in 2012, to fund community projects in Fishtown, Northern Liberties, and parts of Kensington. Vendors supplying the casino have a lucrative new business opportunity.

Of the two casinos planned in Philadelphia, SugarHouse's more remote location also has the least negative impact on hopes to transform the riverfront into a pedestrian-friendly setting for recreation, and residential and commercial development. That's in stark contrast to the traffic-clogged southern end of Columbus Boulevard, where the long-stalled Foxwoods Casino is slated.

And while it serves its own self-interest, SugarHouse at least will keep a few cars off the road by hauling casino patrons from Center City aboard a free trolley.

The vocal casino opponents who fought the good fight did delay SugarHouse's opening. That's a victory of sorts. Now, their vow to monitor inevitable problems stemming from casino gambling in Philadelphia must become the mantra of city officials, too.