Anti-casino group says Philadelphia is losing at SugarHouse

Philadelphia’s SugarHouse Casino plans to break ground on an expansion next summer: nearly doubling its gambling space.  As the current gaming facility’s one year anniversary approaches, anti-casino activists are back at it.  Casino-Free Philadelphia said when you consider financial losses, personal indebtedness, and crime, the negatives outweigh the benefits by 10 to 1.  Kaytee Riek said the group’s report shows people have lost over $232 million at SugarHouse through August, while the city gained a little over $10 million in taxes and other revenue.  “On the other hand, the investors have made over $54 million in profit,” said Riek.  “That’s profit–not revenue–that’s profit from the casino  Of that $34 million went directly to Chicago so it didn’t even stay in Philadelphia. Two of the investors live there.”Riek claimed the casino is also a bad deal for because the jobs at SugarHouse are non-union, and have gone disproportionately to white males.  A Sugarhouse spokesperson respectfully disagreed with the report.  Sugarhouse plans to mark its anniversary with a block party and fireworks show.