“There was a limited number of licenses in the state,” said Delaware County Councilman John McBlain. “This has been wildly successful.”īehind the push for legalized gambling in the state was a push for the advancement of racing licenses, and with those a joining of harness racing and casinos, which are now classified as the top tier Category 1 casino, or racino, in Pennsylvania. “My whole goal was tax relief for seniors, because seniors live on fixed incomes, and as property taxes kept rising they had no ability to cope with them,” Rendell told the Associated Press in 2014. Ed Rendell promoted casino gambling as a way to stave off rising school property taxes. Horse racing for years stood as the only form of gambling legalized in the state, save for the games of chance with the Pennsylvania State Lottery, but casinos were much maligned until then-Gov. The climate of gambling in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania had a much different atmosphere in the early 2000s. Horse racing was dwindling in popularity and the state struggled to even find companies who wanted to snatch up two of six available harness racing licenses.Īnd then a grandiose plan to develop the waterfront of Chester came to the forefront. Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack called a it “proud moment” and a reason to celebrate 10 years in the market and its “ongoing partnership with the community.”Īnd yet at one point in Pennsylvania the view of gambling was not so positive.

CHESTER > Today marks the 10th anniversary of harness racing in Chester.

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