 What happens when government crawls in to bed with predatory gambling? This:  Most of VisitPhilly.com's "lover letter" ads promote public and non-profit cultural attractions like Independence Hall, the Franklin Institute, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. That makes sense - VisitPhilly is run by the publicly funded Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) and those are attractions we are rightly proud of. [1] They bring in tourists, create jobs, and make Philadelphia a great place to live. So why is the GPTMC now trading on our city's good name and reputation to promote a casino? And why is it promoting the concept of a "hot streak," a form of the gambler's fallacy - a mistaken belief about gambling that encourages betting until you lose? Casinos are good at selling an image, and the idea that you are winning when you are losing; and they don't just sell to their patrons. With politicians and tourism companies not only buying the casinos false image, but selling it as well. This is not how Philadelphia should be represented. Casino's are hardly on par with the Liberty Bell, Fairmount Park, or any other jewel of Philadelphia. No matter how you dress them up, casinos are in the business of predatory gambling. Casino-Free Philadelphia has fought back by exposing the truth about casinos, building an argument backed up with well-researched evidence. So we're beginning a series of blog posts that lays out our argument in detail in one place |
Our argument against casinos begins with their business model. They rely on gambling addiction for profit, taking advantage of the most vulnerable in our population, and target local residents. Unacceptable on its own, this business model also explains why casinos have failed to deliver on promises of economic development and revenue growth.
Please read along as we post new pieces of the argument each week. Let everyone know why you oppose casinos; share the link to our blog; everyone should know what the casinos, and their partners, are selling. Let them know we're not buying it.
With Love,
Casino-Free Philadelphia
P.S. Stay tuned for exciting developments in the Art Museum district!
[1] See the GPTMC Annual Report for 2012 The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation is a private, non-profit organization.
Funding sources:
64% Philadelphia hotel tax revenue
17% Comm of Pennsylvania grants
8% Partnerships, sponsorships, commissions
7% Delaware River Port Authority
4% Foundation grants
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment