Poker fanatics will soon have another outlet for their gambling desires.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awarded licenses on Dec. 20 for two casinos in Philadelphia to developers of the Foxwoods and SugarHouse casinos. The committee had received five bids.
"All five [casinos] were deemed to be suitable to receive a license," Gaming Control Board spokesman Doug Harbach said, adding that Pennsylvania law only allowed the board to award licenses to two casinos in Philadelphia.
SugarHouse will be located in the Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood of Fishtown, near the Delaware River on Columbus Boulevard, while Foxwoods will anchor South Philadelphia's stretch of the Delaware riverfront.
The casinos - which will only contain slot machines - were two of five licenses awarded statewide in an effort spurred by Gov. Ed Rendell to lower property taxes through gambling revenue.
It is hoped that Philadelphia's pair will propel development along the waterfront and bring jobs and economic growth to the city.
For many Penn students, however, the prospect of new casinos across the city is not something that has grabbed their attention.
"We have enough entertainment around us," College freshman Rachel Levick said, adding that she doesn't think the slot parlors will attract many students.
Community members have had a far more adverse reaction and are contending that the casinos will be more trouble than they're worth in terms of worsened traffic, increased crime and gambling addiction.
That's the stance taken by Rene Goodwin, spokeswoman for Riverfront Communities United, a South Philadelphia anti-casino group focusing its efforts against the Foxwoods plan.
Goodwin said her group was initially "stunned" by the announcement that Foxwoods would get a license, arguing that it was the worst of the casino plans.
She added that the decision demonstrated that "it's been business as usual - corruption at the highest levels of the process," though she admitted that there is no proof that politics swayed the decision.
In making their choices, Harbach explained that board members looked at a set of criteria based in part on a plan's projected cost, the business experience of applicants, the financial strengths and weaknesses of the proposals and the community impact of a casino.
He declined, however, to explain the exact reasoning behind the decisions, saying members would likely release a written statement sometime within the next two weeks elaborating on their reasoning.
Construction at the proposed sites can begin at any time, Harbach said, though he expects developers to wait until legal efforts by community groups are exhausted.
This includes an appeal to the state Supreme Court, which will have to be decided on by Jan. 19.
Goodwin says her group is assessing its legal options and is throwing qualified support behind a plan sponsored by Councilman Frank DiCicco to put in place zoning restrictions on the casino sites.
Officials from the two casinos could not be reached for comment yesterday.
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