Gambling with Philadelphia: Examining the Impacts of Commercial Casinos in a large American city.

Article Sidebar

Requires Subscription or Fee PDF (GBP 25)
Published: Dec 19, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5750/jgbe.v10i3.1238
Keywords:
casinos Philadelphia economic development

Main Article Content

Moira Aileen Conway
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Abstract

Casino gaming has emerged in the United States in a variety of new locations as a source of economic development.  In 2010 commercial casino gambling expanded into a major United States city, when a casino opened in Philadelphia.  The city currently has one open casino and a second proposed casino, this, along with three other casinos in the metropolitan area, makes Philadelphia an important case study to examine the impacts of casino gaming in a major urban area in the United States.  Through interviews and media/policy analysis, the casinos interaction with the local community during the planning process, and since the one casino has opened are analyzed.  It is revealed that a variety of stakeholders were involved in the casino location process, and the community has been impacted by the casino in a variety of areas including economic effects, a community benefits agreement, crime, potential gambling addiction and gentrification.  

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 10 No. 3 (2016)
Section
Articles

References

Works Cited

Assad, Matt. (May 20, 2012). Pennsylvania leads the way in casino taxes. The

Morning Call. Retrieved from: http://articles.mcall.com/2012-05-29/news/mc-pennsylvania-gambling-casino-taxes-20120529_1_tax-rate-property-tax-rebates-tax-bill

American Gaming Association: Pennsylvania. Retrieved in March, 2015 from

http://www.americangaming.org/industry-resources/state-information

/pennsylvania

Austrian, Ziona & Rosentraub, Mark S. 2002. Cities, Sports, and Economic Change: A

Retrospective Assessment. Journal of Urban Affairs, 24(5), 549-563.

Bachelor, Lynn W., (1998). Stadiums as Solution Sets: Baseball, Football, and the

Revival of Downtown Detroit. Review of Policy Research, 15(1) , 89-102.

Barnes, Tom. (2010, January ). PA Senate OKs Table Games. Pittsburgh Post-

Gazette. Retrieved from: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10006/1026066-454.stm

Biloxi Blues- The Underside of the Mississippi Miracle (N.D). Working for

America. Retrieved 4/27/11 from: http://www.workingforamerica.org/news

/story.asp?ArticleID=28

Blanchard, M. (June 5, 2007). SugarHouse woos Fishtown Fans. PlanPhilly. Retrieved

from: http://planphilly.com/articles/2007/06/05/1572

Blevins, Audie & Jensen, Katherine. (1998). Gambling as a Community Development

Quick Fix. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , 556, 109-123.

Chapin, Timothy S. (2004). Sports Facilities as Urban Redevelopment Catalysts.

Journal of the American Planning Association, 70(2), 193-209.

Ciabattoni, Christanna. (April 30, 2010). Fishtown: Art Galleries Contribute to

Community’s Gentrification. Philadelphia Neighborhoods. Retrieved from: http://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2010/04/30/fishtown-art-galleries-contribute-to-communitys-gentrification/

Dannestam, Tove. (2008). Rethinking Local Politics: Towards a Cultural Political

Economy of Entreprenerurial Cities. Space and Polity, 12(3), 353-372.

Delaware Riverkeeper (2008). Sugarhouse Casino- Letter Re Army Corps

Permit. Retrieved from http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/

search.aspx?KeyWord=casino

Delaney, Kevin, J. & Eckstein, R. (September, 2007). Urban Power Structures and

Publicly Financed Stadiums. Sociological Forum, 22(3), 331-353.

Dense, Jeff & Barrow, Clyde. (2003). Estimating Casino Expenditures by Out-of-State

Patrons: Native American Gaming in Connecticut. Journal of Travel Research, 41(4), 410-415.

“Do AC” Media Campaign. Atlantic City Alliance. Retrieved from:

http://www.atlanticcityalliance.net/media-campaign/

Eadington, William R. (1998, March). Contributions of Casino-Style Gambling to

Local Economies. Annals, AAPSS , 556.

Eadington, William R. (1999). The Economies of Casino Gambling. Journal of

Economic Perspectives , 13 (3), 173-192.

Felsenstein, Daniel, Littlepage, Laura & Klacik, Drew. (1999). Casino Gambling as

Local Growth Generation: Playing the Economic Development Game in Reverse. Journal of Urban Affairs , 21 (4), 409-21.

Florida, Richard. (2012, November 25). Gambling away our cities. New York Daily

News. Retrieved from: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/gambling-cities-article-1.1206079

Gambardello, Joseph A. (September 23, 2012). Police say robbery ring preys on

SugarHouse patrons. Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved from: http://articles.philly.com/2012-09-23/news/34023083_1_surveillance-video-sugarhouse-casino-robberies

Gates, Kellie P. (July 7, 2008). Updated: Casino re-site battle heats up. PlanPhilly.

Retrieved from: http://planphilly.com/articles/2008/07/07/3120

Gates, Kellie P. (November 9, 2012). Six applicants tell city they want Philadelphia's

second casino license. PlanPhilly. Retrieved from: http://planphilly.com/six-applicants-tell-city-they-want-philadelphias-second-casino-license

Gazel, Ricardo. (1998). The Economic Impacts of Casino Gambling at the State and

Local Levels. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 66-84.

Hall, Tim. & Hubbard, Phil. (1998). The Entrepreneurial City and the “New Urban

Politcs” In Hall, T. & Hubbard, P. (Eds). The Entrepreneurial City: geographies of politics, regime, and representation. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Harvey, David. (1989). From Managerialism to Entrepreneurialism: The

Transformation in Urban Governance in Late Capitalism. Geografiska Annaler, 71(B).

Hilario, Fran & Shelly, Jared. (November 18, 2014). Live! Hotel and Casino wins

Philadelphia casino license. Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved from: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2014/11/18/live-hotel-and-casino-wins-philadelphia-casino.html?s=print

Hoyt, Lorlene. (February, 2007). Beginner’s Luck. Planning Magazine. Retrieved from:

http://www.lorlenehoyt.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Hoyt_beginners_luck.40110226.pdf

Jessop, Bob. & Sum, Nhai-Ling. (2000). An Entrepreneurial City in Action: Hong

Kong’s Emerging Strategies in and for (Inter)Urban Competition. Urban Studies, 37(12), 2287-2313.

Johnston, David. (June 22, 1993). Firm Buys an Option for Riverfront Casino Two Ex-

trump Officials Seek Part of Rob Rubin’s Rezoned Site for a Floating Gaming Hall. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved from: http://articles.philly.com/1993-06-22/news/25971945_1_casino-riverboat-capital-gaming-international

Levine, Marc. (2003). Tourism-Based Redevelopment and the Fiscal Crisis of the

City: The Case of Montreal. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 12(1), 102-123.

Macaluso, Lauren & Laurie, Tyler. (December 8, 2010). Fishtown: Sugarhouse’s

Community Benefits Agreement Helps Neighborhood Groups. Philadelphia Neighborhoods. Retrieved from: http://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2010/

/08/fishtown-sugarhouses-community-benefits-agreement-helps-neighborhood-groups/

Miller, William & Schwartz, Martin. Casino Gambling and Street Crime. Annals of the

American Academy of Political Science, 556(1), 124-137.

Minton, Eric. (2006, April). Hey, Big Spender. Planning , 18-26.

Nichols, Mark, Stitt, B. Grant, & Giacopassi, David. (2002). Community Assessment of

the Effects of Casinos on Quality of Life. Social Indicators Research , 57 (3), 229-262.

Pelissero, John P., Henschen, Beth M. & Sidlow, Edward I., (1991). Urban Regimes,

Sports Stadiums, and the Politics of Economic Development Agendas in Chicago. Review of Policy Research. 10(2-3), p. 117-129.

PlanPhilly: Issues. Retrieved in March, 2010 from http://planphilly.com

Rose, Nelson. (2005). Pennsylvania’s new slot law. Gaming Law Review, 111–112.

Schwartz, Amy E. & Ellen, Ingrid G. No Easy Answers: Cautionary Notes from

Competitive Cities. The Brookings Institution. Retrieved 7/11/11 from http://www.brookings.edu/.

Steinbrueck, P. (February 1, 2007). Leaders must develop unified vision.

Philly.com

SugarHouse Year One: Pennsylvania bets, Philadelphia loses. Casino-Free

Philadelphia. Retrieved 12/12 from: http://www.casinofreephilly.org/casino-facts/sugarhouse-year-one-pennsylvania-bets-philadelphia-loses#4

Sze, Julie. (2009). Sports and Environmental Justice: “Games” of Race, Place,

Nostalgia, and Power in Neoliberal New York City. Journal of Sport & Social Issues. 33(2), p. 111-129.

Teague, Matthew. (2007, June). Gaming the System. Philadelphia Magazine.

Tsai, Pamela. (September 1, 2009). Casino’s bid to enter center city Philadelphia

thwarted. Epoch Times. Retrieved from http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/

content/view/21871/

Types of Gaming By State. American Gaming Association Retrieved from:

http://www.americangaming.org/industry-resources/research/fact-sheets/states-gaming

Van Voorhis, Scott. (2009, June 15). Foxwoods Philadelphia story faces potent urban

opposition. Gambling Compliance. Retrieved from http://www.gambling

compliance.com/node/37496

Velotta, Richard. (2008, February). The G Word. Planning, pp. 27–30.

Walker, Douglas M. & Jackson, John D. (2007). Do Casinos Cause Economic Growth?.

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 66(3), 1-13.

Wallace, David J. (November 24, 1993). Real Estate; With hopes that casino gambling

will soon follow, Philadelphia developers plan retail centers. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://articles.philly.com/1993-06-22/news/25971945_1_casino-riverboat-capital-gaming-international

Warner, Susan. (January 5, 1994). Bally to Buy 31 Acres of Riverfront The Casino Firm

is Staking a Claim In S. Phila. It Dropped Plans Last Year to Purchas Another Tract. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved from: http://articles.philly.com/1994-01-05/news/25822782_1_riverboat-gambling-bally-manufacturing-potential-casino-site

Whitehouse, Mark. (2007, 11-July). Bad Odds. The Wall Street Journal , R5.