Friday, April 07, 2006

"The meeting - an ad hoc dress rehearsal for gaming hearings that begin Monday - opened with a shiny slide presentation by casino operators but quickly deteriorated into a shouting match between sign-waving proponents and opponents of the project.

"The volley of shouts among about 200 people reached a crescendo in the filled-to-capacity Mercy Vocational High School on Hunting Park Avenue during a video presentation in which Croce talked about the jobs that would be created by the casino he and Donald Trump want to build. The clapping and booing drowned out Croce and the video, which was shot at the former Budd industrial site where the casino has been proposed. The 17.5-acre plot where the casino would be built is at Henry and Roberts Avenues.

"…TrumpStreet chief executive Mark Juliano, a former Caesars Palace president and a Philadelphian, told the crowd that the casino would be 'much more than a gaming facility.'

"…Instead, he said, the casino would be a street-level promenade with three movie theaters and several restaurants, including a Chickie's & Pete's…"