Giving up

Did you hear? They're giving up.

Casinos are giving up. Before even breaking ground, SugarHouse is already making cuts, massively scaling down their original proposal due to limited financing and a tight economy, as a SugarHouse spokesperson confirmed to NBC 10.

Philadelphia leaders are giving up. The mayor, once a fan of sustainable development without predatory gambling, is now turning to casinos to balance a budget at the expense of the residents he claims to represent, turning his back on those who elected him.

Pennsylvania legislators are giving up. Instead of passing a responsible budget, legislators in Harrisburg are seeking to expand predatory gambling through table games, extracting even more money from communities most in need of support, despite indications that casinos will offer no long-term relief to state budgets.

We, on the other hand, are not giving up. We know that it's only because of the efforts of people like you, working together, that casinos have been held off for this long. We know that every delay and roadblock to development makes scaled-back proposals more likely, even while we continue to prevent any casinos from setting up shop.

We know that when SugarHouse's construction site goes bankrupt and Foxwood's financing collapses, Philadelphia's future generations will have you to thank for keeping predatory gambling at bay.

Please join us this Thursday, October 8, at Frankford and Delaware Avenues, as we break ground on a vision for a better Philadelphia -- one that doesn't rely on greed and addiction to thrive. Join us at 2pm and help build the Philadelphia of the future.

We know we've asked a lot of you in recent weeks, but Thursday will be a critical time to demonstrate to casino financiers, political leaders and other Philadelphians that we're not giving up, and we're not going away.