Steve Volk, of the Philadelphia Weekly, wrote an absolutely incredible story that comes out today about the moral idiocy of Philadelphia slot parlors, with a particular focus on my “favorite,” Trump Street.

I will quote Volk liberally, but, I strongly encourage everyone to read the article. It is really remarkable, and a great example of why strong, independent local media is not something that is replaceable, not by national newspapers or doofus bloggers like myself.

Volk goes piece by piece though much of the BS that has been thrown our way by the Casino companies in general, and the Trump organization in particular.

Where to begin? Read below.

Well, as Ray mentioned, Trump Street is supposed to provide good jobs for people, right? In that way, the Casino will in some way offset the fact that it is leaching onto a community that really cannot afford to have its money pissed away down one-arm bandits? Well, as Ray also noted, the irony is that to buy itself more land, Trump has greased the wheels for Tastycake, one of the last places with very good jobs in the neighborhood, to bolt.

Well, at least there is no big barrier for people to get these Casino jobs, right? Oh...

There was no public debate before casinos became a reality, and no vote. Those who want to work in our new casinos will have to pay for the privilege. Our cockeyed and corrupt legislators, bloated with power, their feet resting on the illegal immigrants they use as footstools, plan to charge $350 fees to those who want to work as cashiers, change carriers, slots attendants and any other position the state deems gaming-related.

Workers will also be extorted another $350 on an annual basis, purportedly to pay for background checks. Bartenders, food service employees, maintenance workers and other nongaming employees will pay a one-time fee of $60.

And we're just arriving at the scary part.

Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. Out of work people, applying for a low wage job, have tons of cash sitting around to spend anyway.
At least though, they are sacrificing for the good of local businesses, who will benefit from all of this new economic activity:

By the city's own estimates, produced by the Gaming Advisory Task Force, casinos will siphon between 10 percent and 25 percent of their revenue from existing city businesses. That means between $67 million and $187 million in losses to local merchants. These figures, of course, hugely offset the $150 to $220 million in spending the city expects casinos to trigger.

OK, but the City is getting a ton of money for all this, and this money is going into the City coffers, dropping the wage tax a ton, etc. Right?

Casinos will pay the city a 4 percent hosting fee worth approximately $26 to $30 million annually, much of which will be offset by associated costs, like the $11 to $16 million slated for increased policing.

.....

In Philadelphia the wage tax will drop roughly one-tenth of a percentage point for commuters and three-tenths for residents. To the average working stiff making $45,000 a year, the reduction means an annual $120 savings.

The bottom line though is that is all about having a little fun, right? This is not about creating gambling addicts on the streets of Philadelphia? Ohhhhhh, wait, not true…

The industry lured him in with total rewards or “player” cards, which casinos use to track how much a gambler bets. “The more you bet,” says Kearney, “the more ‘rewards' you get—free booze, free food, free hotel rooms. You start feeling like a high roller, like you're getting something for your money.”

State Rep. Paul Clymer has introduced a piece of legislation based on Kearney's comp-card experience, calling for casinos to mail monthly financial statements to those with player cards. “They'll never do it on their own,” says Kearney, “because addicts mean too much to their bottom line.”

.....

“We asked Trump to send monthly statements,” says Wynder. “That's something we're negotiating with them as a means of protecting the community.”

The idea is that gamblers would see how much they're losing and realize they have a problem. The Trump group is predictably cool to the idea. They've told the MCA casino cardholders can obtain financial statements from kiosks inside the casino, and they'll make the information available over the Internet. Kearney says that's not good enough.

.....

Meanwhile, Trump spokesperson Larry Ceisler says sending out statements “raises privacy concerns.”
That argument seems rather flimsy. Credit card companies, for instance, have a nasty habit of sending richly detailed statements to their customers, yet privacy advocates don't make a peep.
……
Kearney thinks the debate itself makes his point. “This fight demonstrates how casinos operate. They won't send statements for one reason: They need gambling addicts.”

Having a slot parlor pretend they don't want gambling addicts is a little like a tobacco company saying they don't want chain smokers. We all know it is a lie, as does Trump. But, couldn't they come up with a better example than privacy concerns? I don't know, it seems like they aren't even trying very hard to shovel us the BS. I mean, if the mail is that unsecure, maybe I better tell my student loan companies, my credit card companies, the phone company and the like that I will need everything hand delivered, or given to me in Morse Code in a secret channel I will set up.

Gambling was, and is, a stupid idea, made stupider with plans to plop down slot parlors in the middle of City neighborhoods. Maybe instead of taking the usual gruel that Harrisburg has dealt out, it is time for some of our local elected officials to pledge to get in front of bulldozers until there are some better resolutions to the myriad of problems that Trump and the rest of the Casinos are going to bring to Philly.