My occasional comments, including the ramblings of a Lawyer in Philadelphia.
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Monday, April 17, 2006
Gambling
Could it be that Donald Trump has chosen the best site for the coming Philadelphia casino?
Inga Saffron suggests that the city may be best served by keeping the slots away from the river.
2 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I think Inga misrepresents the neighborhood Trump wants to 'revitalize'. Although he showed images of blighted north philadelphia in his presentation at the hearings the location of the entrance to the proposed slots casino is in East Fall less than a mile from the Govenor, the Senator and the Congressman's homes. the nearest homes, w/in a block are pretty little row houses that are very well kept with 'say not to TRUMP!' signs in the windows. Apparently Trump wants to revitalize some of the most desireable residential real estate in Philadelphia.
another comment on inga's site that makes important points.
Anonymous said...
I can't agree more with the last anonymous posting. TrumpStreet makes much of its "Nicetown" location and how it will come in and save the day for that poor area, but ignores the fact that it is also in East Falls, a one of a kind neighborhood with a rich history and beuatiful homes, that does not need assistance from a slot parlor in its backyard. Of course, if TrumpStreet ends up building there (God-forbid) I am sure that when they market themselves to suburbanites, they will go to great lengths to highlight their East Falls neighborhood location and to ignore Nicetown and route all traffic away from the Nicetown neighborhood. The truth is, Trump and Croce care only about the dough they stand to make and nothing about the effects of their project upon East Falls or Nicetown. Also, besides the nice homes within a mile of the proposed slot parlor, there also sit: Philadelphia University, William Penn Charter School, Germantown Friends School, Mifflin School, and St. Bridget's parish. How can anyone but the disinterested or self-interested outsiders think it is a bright idea to add a casino there?
Gambling is a bad business, but a lucrative one, and one that makes enough money to allow the house to put up with all kinds of regulations and taxes that would stifle any normal economic activity. It's a symptom that something's wrong with the economic climate when gambling shows up: normal business has to have been driven out somehow.
As it turns out, I'm completely ignorant of the Nicetown and East Fall communities: I've spent all of my time in Philadelphia in a four-mile radius from City Hall. But I'm not surprised that most people aren't excited about a gambling den in their neighborhood.
All of the proposals come from folks who want to make money. From the corporate perspective, all of the potential sites must be viable, but it's ridiculous to imagine that the goal of the operators is to "revitalize the community." And, I think Inga's blog post pointed that out pretty well: everybody in the room knows these guys are like prom dates talking about how much respect they have for your daughter's virtue. It's the kind of talk that lasts until the limo pulls out of the driveway, and then is forgotten.
2 comments:
I think Inga misrepresents the neighborhood Trump wants to 'revitalize'. Although he showed images of blighted north philadelphia in his presentation at the hearings the location of the entrance to the proposed slots casino is in East Fall less than a mile from the Govenor, the Senator and the Congressman's homes. the nearest homes, w/in a block are pretty little row houses that are very well kept with 'say not to TRUMP!' signs in the windows. Apparently Trump wants to revitalize some of the most desireable residential real estate in Philadelphia.
another comment on inga's site that makes important points.
Anonymous said...
I can't agree more with the last anonymous posting. TrumpStreet makes much of its "Nicetown" location and how it will come in and save the day for that poor area, but ignores the fact that it is also in East Falls, a one of a kind neighborhood with a rich history and beuatiful homes, that does not need assistance from a slot parlor in its backyard. Of course, if TrumpStreet ends up building there (God-forbid) I am sure that when they market themselves to suburbanites, they will go to great lengths to highlight their East Falls neighborhood location and to ignore Nicetown and route all traffic away from the Nicetown neighborhood. The truth is, Trump and Croce care only about the dough they stand to make and nothing about the effects of their project upon East Falls or Nicetown.
Also, besides the nice homes within a mile of the proposed slot parlor, there also sit: Philadelphia University, William Penn Charter School, Germantown Friends School, Mifflin School, and St. Bridget's parish. How can anyone but the disinterested or self-interested outsiders think it is a bright idea to add a casino there?
Thank you for the comments!
Gambling is a bad business, but a lucrative one, and one that makes enough money to allow the house to put up with all kinds of regulations and taxes that would stifle any normal economic activity. It's a symptom that something's wrong with the economic climate when gambling shows up: normal business has to have been driven out somehow.
As it turns out, I'm completely ignorant of the Nicetown and East Fall communities: I've spent all of my time in Philadelphia in a four-mile radius from City Hall. But I'm not surprised that most people aren't excited about a gambling den in their neighborhood.
All of the proposals come from folks who want to make money. From the corporate perspective, all of the potential sites must be viable, but it's ridiculous to imagine that the goal of the operators is to "revitalize the community." And, I think Inga's blog post pointed that out pretty well: everybody in the room knows these guys are like prom dates talking about how much respect they have for your daughter's virtue. It's the kind of talk that lasts until the limo pulls out of the driveway, and then is forgotten.
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