Bankrupting Steve Wynn
On Wednesday, we confronted Vegas con man Steve Wynn with a simple message: We will ruin your company and run you out of town.
Wynn told the Philadelphia Daily News that this was the first time he'd ever had ordinary citizens confront him publicly about predatory gambling in a hearing. Thank you to the dozens of people who traveled with us to all who donated so generously.
And the chart at right demonstrates the results: We showed up, and Steve's stocks plummeted.
When the formerly-Foxwoods casino went begging for investors -- after years of delays thanks to ongoing pressure from you, and thousands of Philadelphians like you -- they thought they had found their savior in Steve Wynn.
What Wednesday's hearing revealed was a distant billionaire with no interest in our city or our future.
Watch Steve Wynn argue with a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter, declaring that he has no knowledge of the city's plan for the riverfront. Earlier, he admitted he would soon buy out the local investors completely -- contradicting the fiction of all those local benefits.
Which is probably why even the PA Gaming Control Board -- having never met a casino developer it didn't rubber-stamp -- voted unanimously to ignore Wynn's proposal (and continue fining the project $2,000 per day). We know this isn't over, however -- it will take much efforts to run predatory investors like Steve Wynn out of town. But he's never before faced opposition like you.
Yet Wednesday's hearing demonstrated the power of your voice -- forcing Wynn to address questions about the impact of his predatory casinos, prompting the news media to cover Steve's smugness, and sending those precious stock prices into decline.
We're escalating our fight against predatory gambling, and that means training more individuals for important roles in organizing, advocacy, media outreach and sustainable fundraising.
We need YOU in this fight, and we want to give you a chance to learn some new skills -- and share some of the skills you have.
Come to Casino-Free Philadelphia's media workshop next Thursday and find out -- no matter the way in you are fighting social injustice -- how to best position your issue for effective news coverage:
Media Workshop: Talking Points and Interviews
Thursday, March 11, 6:00 to 7:30 PM, No Slots Spot, 718 Market Street
Suggested donation: $5 RSVP online now!
Learn how to develop a cohesive message for an issue and how to translate that message into talking points and effective relationships with reporters.
Do you have skills you'd like to share with the Casino-Free movement? Contact us and let us know how you can help! We'd love to have regular trainings on all aspects of the fight against all forms of social injustice.
