Last week I booked a ticket to Vegas. I'll be going with people I don't know very well to a place I've never been.
I was a little apprehensive about taking the trip, but decided that I couldn't pass up the chance to see the overweight Elvis impersonators, inebriated eloping couples and that throbbing neon glow. Movies have taught me - and movies would never lie - that Las Vegas is a ball of energy and excitement, and I can't wait to jump in.
Of course, I won't be able to take part in the biggest draw of the city because I am not yet old enough to gamble. I guess my wicked poker skills and freakish ability to know where that ticker thing is going to stop will have to wait 'till the next trip.
However, I may not have to wait that long to play slot machines because Philadelphia is constructing casinos of its own.
In December, the city gaming board awarded licenses to two casinos. Foxwoods Casino and SugarHouse Casino plan to build slot-machine casinos on the banks of the Delaware River.
This plan has been met with considerable opposition. Casino Free Philadelphia, a citizens' group, collected 27,000 signatures (well over the required 20,000) in favor of the City Council considering a city-wide vote on casino locations. Voters would be able to choose to ban casino development within 1,500 feet of residential areas, schools or churches.
According to Daniel Hunter, a coordinator for Casino Free Philadelphia, "casinos are not good neighbors." In the group's view, casinos will create crime, gambling addictions, depress wages and compete with already-established local businesses.
Hunter also argued that "the amount of money the jobs would provide would not be enough to live on."
However, in an e-mail interview, John Miller, spokesman for SugerHouse Casino, touted 1,000 union construction jobs and 1,100 permanent jobs that would be "good jobs, averaging $40,000 in salary and benefits."
I could spend hours going through the many other arguments the pro- and anti-casino groups have made. But instead of trying to guess who is right, I decided to get a less-biased opinion.
Although Hunter claimed the government has neglected to do any significant studies on the effects of casinos on the city, in January 2005, Mayor John Street created the Philadelphia Gaming Advisory Task Force for exactly that purpose.
Co-headed by Wharton professor Bernard Anderson, the task force studied many of the concerns raised by casino development, including economic impact, crime, gambling addiction and location choice. Last Saturday afternoon I perused their extremely extensive report and I think they've done their investigating . 436 pages of it to be exact.
Most, if not all, of the concerns Hunter expressed were discussed in the report. Perhaps the largest benefit would be the taxable revenue of the casinos. The task force's report indicated yearly revenue of up to $747 million.
These casino profits would be heavily taxed - Pennsylvania has the highest tax on casinos of any state. According to a Feb. 22 article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, this revenue would make up a large chunk of the $1 billion of projected tax relief.
On the other hand, no one can seriously claim that casinos are "pure" fun, as SugarHouse's Web site states. It is a little unnerving that the state needs to use this unhealthy and contentious recreation as funding.
Nevertheless, sometimes we need to weigh the good and the bad and make a decision. Tax cuts for all may be more important than a few people with a gambling problem.
There are potentially huge gains and losses to be had through the addition of casinos to our city. It's a sensitive matter that should be handled with care.
My democratically biased mind finds it hard to fault giving the citizens a vote on the issue. However, our elected officials are not out to ruin our city. They can be much better informed than the masses and in a case like this it may be better to leave it up to them. We elected them to serve our best interests and we need to trust them to do so.
The future of Philadelphia casinos is up in the air. Who knows - in a few years I may not need to go to Vegas, except of course for the fat Elvises.
Emily Garrett is a College sophomore from Waukon, Iowa. Her e-mail address is garrett@dailypennsylvanian.com . Carpe Di-Em appears on Tuesdays.
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