Taking a gamble with Phila.

Thanks to the state government, up to 61,000 slot machines will soon be coming to Pennsylvania, and two of the casinos will be built in Philadelphia. When Gov. Ed Rendell signed Act 71 -- the bill that legalized slot machines into law -- the fate of our city was sealed.

According to Brian Abernathy, the legislative assistant to City Councilman Frank DiCicco, "The state has decided that gaming is coming, and there is not much we can do to stop it."

Even though two of the casinos will be built in Philadelphia, Act 71 completely cuts local government out of the process; it gives jurisdiction of the implementation and management of the casinos to the state rather than the city. Legislators cite widespread corruption in Philadelphia as the reason, Abernathy said.

But "corruption exists throughout Pennsylvania," he said. "To treat Philadelphia differently is ridiculous."

The state wishes to keep Philadelphia out of all decision making processes.

"We are an agency created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, not Philadelphia. There is no communication between our office and the city government," said Nick Hays, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which is implementing the creation of the casinos.

But I don't think that legislators from Scranton or Allentown know or care about the needs of people who aren't their constituents. Why should a government in which 220 of 253 representatives and senators are not from Philadelphia dictate local policy? The state should work with the city, not usurp total control -- it's a basic tenet of federalism.

Gaming was legalized in Pennsylvania to generate tax revenue -- there is a 52 percent tax on all gaming revenues -- but the social consequences of gaming were never evaluated. Would you want a casino built in your backyard? Would you want the increased noise, traffic jams, crime hikes and price increases that are associated with casinos?

The city estimates the current number of problem and pathological gamblers will increase by 5,000; this is a major problem for Philadelphia. Assuming that each person has one family member, an additional 10,000 Philadelphians will be affected by problem gambling.

Data from Penn's Annenberg Adolescent Risk Communication Institute states that 45 percent of youth nationwide between the ages of 14 and 17 gamble monthly. The mayor's Philadelphia gaming task force report estimates that 6,061 Philadelphia teenagers have a gambling problem now, and that number will increase by over 15,000 teens if gaming comes to our city. Research Director for the ARCI Dan Romer said that "if they're not monitoring the casinos well, there will be young people there."

One aim of the legislation is to give some gaming revenues to social programs, but only a measly 0.01 percent of revenue is currently intended to go toward community programs. This will only amount to $1.5 million per year across the entire state, and that is not enough money to create and maintain programs for Philadelphia to help problem gamblers, let alone the whole state.

So how did this pass by the desk of Rendell, Philadelphia's former mayor? It's likely that the $175,160 he received from gambling interests in the 2004-05 fiscal year -- more than any other state politician -- had something to do with it.

"It's not a secret that most of these gaming partners are politically connected in one form or another," Abernathy said.

Until Philadelphia and the state work together, the interests of the people will not be addressed.

But residents are fighting back.

A Multi-Community Alliance to represent 27 community organizations in North Philadelphia and Germantown has been established to fight the introduction of gaming into in a neighborhood where Donald Trump would like to build a casino.

Ralph Wynder, chairman of this organization, said that "people are opposed to the casino based on social issues like the tendency for compulsive gambling addiction to rise, which could lead to home foreclosures and an influx of payday-lending institutions and pawn shops into the community." He added that such trends are common in areas where casinos open.

According to the Mayor's polling commission, three in five residents oppose slot facilities in Philadelphia. Still, community activists like Wynder feel that this number is terribly underestimated and flawed.

Sadly, our own mayor fails to see the problems that community members fear.

"The mayor is very supportive of gaming," John Street's spokesman, Joe Grace, said. "We see a substantial economic benefit for the city."

Though there may be economic gains from gaming, Philadelphia's social problems will be further compounded. If slots come to Philadelphia, its citizens needs a say -- and Mayor Street should listen.

Stephen Morse is a junior English and history major from Oceanside, N.Y. Morsels of Wisdom appears on Wednesdays.

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