Patrons unsafe at SugarHouse

Robbery in SugarHouse lot defeated tight security

With 24-hour security patrols inside and out, a state police outpost, regular checks from city officers, and more than 500 surveillance cameras, SugarHouse Casino might be one of the most thoroughly policed areas in the city.

And when three women were robbed by two men at gunpoint early Friday in the parking lot on their way into the casino, SugarHouse officials said, a security vehicle was patrolling nearby.

The robbery, the first reported at SugarHouse's 45,000-square-foot property on the Delaware River since it opened in September, according to police, happened quickly - possibly in less than a minute, said Anthony DiLacqua, the casino's head of security. By the time security officials arrived, the robbers had fled in a silver Pontiac. Though the robbery was captured on video, no arrests had been made. "This was a horrible thing to happen, and we're very upset," said DiLacqua, a former chief inspector with city police. "Our goal is to provide the safest environment possible for our guests, much like that's the goal of the Philadelphia Police Department in the city."


Before Friday's robbery, police had received three reports of crime at SugarHouse since the casino's Sept. 23 opening: two reports of theft from cars in the parking lot, and one of a broken car window.

About 1 a.m. Friday, the three women, ages 29, 30, and 32, arrived in the parking lot and were approached by two men who demanded money. One of the women was pistol-whipped, and the men took $340 and credit cards.

Last month, a 26-year-old man who had won about $2,000 at SugarHouse was pistol-whipped near his Cinnaminson home after leaving the casino. Police say they believe he was followed by two men who overheard him discussing his winnings and then tried to rob him. The assailants got nothing; the man wrestled one to the ground, and another tripped over his baggy pants, police said. Heated debate greeted SugarHouse's opening on the river in Fishtown.

Community groups have argued that the casino will bring traffic and crime to the area, and they have expressed doubt that the casino's economic benefits will outweigh the negatives.

The local organization Casino-Free Philadelphia has volunteered additional manpower by organizing several town watch patrols in the area, including one set for Saturday.

Tom Hajdo, a spokesman for the group, said Friday's robbery was the type of crime the organization had feared the casino would bring. The majority of SugarHouse's cameras are there to catch cheating and employee theft. "Casinos create opportunities for crime," he said. "As long as it's here, we're going to keep seeing these types of problems."


SugarHouse Attacks Concern Casino Neighbors

In the wake of the latest violent incident near the SugarHouse Casino, residents who live near say that they haven’t felt safe since the establishment came to town.

Two crimes targeting SugarHouse Casino patrons have occurred within weeks of each other.

On Friday around 12:45 a.m., two masked men allegedly robbed three women of cash and credit cards and pistol-whipped one of them.

Another incident occurred last month when two men followed a casino winner to his South Jersey home and tried to rob him.

A community group, Casino-Free Philadelphia, planned to patrol the casino before Friday’s robbery and now feel that their plans are more urgent.

“As a father of two children and a husband, I’m certainly nervous for my family,” said Jethro Heiko, a member of the group. “After the incidents that have happened, I’m even more concerned about the patrons who seem to be the real targets.”

The suspects involved in the latest incident were last seen in a 2001 Pontiac Bonneville with license plate number HGG 2937, according to investigators.

Police also say that the getaway car was reported carjacked in Darby Township hours before the victims were robbed.