Letters to the Editor

What You Say

Gamblers Unanimous

  I've always been on the fence about casinos in the city [Naked City, "My Gambling Problem," Isaiah Thompson, April 2, 2009]. On the one hand, the visceral sensation I got from the thought of slot palaces abutting our waterfront was something that made me shudder for both aesthetic and social reasons. But, I had the same dollar signs in my eyes that every politician has when envisioning how to divert the massive revenue generated by the beasts. I occasionally spoke up with civic-minded friends that casinos were a bad idea for Philadelphia, but would get talked down by the prospect of state and city departments flush with new operating funds. I never argued much because I didn't know the real financial or sociological statistics myself.

This picture of the industry is pretty chilling. It makes me want to draw parallels to one of the other major components of our city's economy: drug sales. Metaphors aside, I'm glad to see this type of journalistic outrage and the important story it is illuminating. For a mayor who is supposedly all about the numbers, it's eerily curious that the administration hasn't had legitimate financial estimates — and published ones, at that — for the benefit to the city for a long time already. Thanks for getting grimy in the trenches, Isaiah. Keep it up.

Isaiah's dogged pursuit of answers is the stuff that should make reporters proud. I hear your voice in the wilderness and am glad that you ask the hard questions. Casinos are the worst thing we could possibly do to develop our city. These things will prey upon the weakest of the weak and generally degrade our city from a world-class one to a low-road, second-rate metropolis.

Thank you. This was a wonderful article. Even if you feel it is getting tiresome, please keep it up. And, next time, offer us a couple suggestions for what we can do — if there is any hope left.

A story in last week's Naked City section, "My Gambling Problem" by Isaiah Thompson, incorrectly identified Paul Clymer as a state senator. He is a state representative. City Paper regrets the error.