SugarHouse Slot Barn: Attracting Crime

CASINO-FREE PHILADELPHIA:

Casino-Free Philadelphia's mission is to stop casinos from coming to Philadelphia and close any that open. The social and economic costs of predatory gambling are plainly apparent from an industry reliant on addiction to survive.

warned of the increased crime that accompanies Slot Barns around the country --


Woman pistol whipped, robbed, outside Phila. casino

FISHTOWN - November 12, 2010 (WPVI) -- Police say two men, at least one armed with a handgun, pistol whipped and robbed a woman early Friday morning as she walked out of Philadelphia's new SugarHouse Casino.

Investigators say the 31-year-old victim stepped out of the casino at about 1:00 a.m. on Friday.

That's when two men approached her. One of the men struck her with a handgun.

The two men then robbed the woman, jumped into a car, and drove south on Delaware Avenue. They remain on the loose.

Police are looking at surveillance video to try to identify the suspects.

The woman was taken to Temple University Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Last month, police found surveillance video from inside the SugarHouse, of two men who investigators say followed a man who just won $1500.00 in the casino.

Officers say the suspects followed the man to his home in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, where they pistol whipped him.

The man fought them off. The suspects drove off without getting any money.

Police say that although the two incidents have similarities, it's too early to say if the crimes were committed by the same suspects.

The robberies once again raise the concerns over casino crime that residents in the area have had since the SugarHouse was first proposed for Fishtown.