[written by Norma Van Dyke]

Tom Ferrick was bored. Released from a year’s constraint of promoting the City for the Great Expectations series, he wanted to have some fun. So he (publicly; twice) placed his bet that casinos would be a winner for Philadelphia and stood back to enjoy the uproar which ensued.

True, he says, the vulnerable will be sacrificed (but that’s not unusual in our society); the proposed buildings are ugly and in the wrong place, but casinos will provide jobs, and,--best of all-- reduce business taxes. He doesn’t bother to mention that all independent experts forecast that casinos will be economic losers. That’s probably because he read the Inquirer survey regarding the over-expansion of the convention center which found that nobody, who really matters, cares that it may well be a money loser in the long run. The business community wants its’ fix. Fly now, pay later.

So who will really be the winner of the casino gamble? I bet on the investors. Anybody who wants to put money down that I’m wrong, contact me at the e-mail address below.

Norma Van Dyke
nvandyke2@verizon.net