Beat the House Event Planned for June 6 at PA Slots Parlor

For Immediate Release

On Saturday, June 6, 2009, Casino-Free Philadelphia will put the casino industry on notice. Residents of Philadelphia and allies from around the country will cover new ground — inside an existing, operating casino in the region — and conduct ourselves in ways that focus the public’s attention on the heart of the controversy.

The event, called Beat the House, will use various tactics that can be replicated at any casino anywhere in the country — including the two casinos proposed for Philadelphia, SugarHouse and Foxwoods, whether they open in our city or elsewhere. Working in teams, participants in this event will enter a nearby slots parlor and use a series of actions to expose the predatory practices used by the gambling trade. 

"We will enter the casino as any other citizen is allowed to do and, inside, we will take actions designed to ask the hard questions the industry does not want to answer," said Ivan Boothe, an organizer with Casino-Free Philadelphia. "Our supporters will engage the industry on its home turf to highlight the predatory practices that would come to Philadelphia if the elected officials dare to push forward the plans for SugarHouse or Foxwoods, the two casinos proposed for Philadelphia."

Casino-Free Philadelphia has been fighting to keep casinos out of Philadelphia since 2006. Its current campaign, the "Declaration of Independence from Casinos," seeks to embolden at least one elected official representing Philadelphians to publicly adopt the position that casinos do not belong in our city. The June 6 action will remind politicians, the casino industry and their investors that casinos are not welcome in Philadelphia.

"We are putting the industry on notice: the citizens will not tolerate casinos in Philadelphia," said Lily Cavanagh, Beat the House organizer with Casino-Free Philadelphia. "Through our actions, we will expose their predatory practices and demonstrate how this trade is politically indefensible."

Casino-Free Philadelphia's mission is to stop casinos from coming to Philadelphia and close any that open. The benefits of casinos can never outweigh the social and economic costs from an industry reliant on addiction to survive. Visit us online at www.CasinoFreePhila.org.

###