Gambling terminals with names like 'Luck or Luxury' have spread across Philly, due to weak state law and lax city policing of corner stores that sell little other than drug paraphernalia and chance.
Unregulated gambling machines have proliferated in Philly’s poorest neighborhoods. City Council is considering a ban in most businesses.
“I won $300 once,” a man who identified himself as “Fire” said one recent weekday morning as he fed bill after bill into one of 10 machines that dominate the interior of Accesorios San Expedicto on Kensington Avenue. He pointed to a dead screen. “I do think they turn off the machines that start hitting. But it gives you someplace safe to go sometimes.
“For the small businesses in this area, the majority of sales are from tobacco,” Uceta said. “But the city won’t give us a license. So right now these machines are what are sustaining the businesses. … If they get rid of the machines, these small businesses will definitely close.” A single license expediter, Tina Accounting & Tax Services, applied for more than 170 convenience store permits since 2020 on behalf of would-be owners, far more than any other applicant. At least 70 of those businesses were later cited for permit violations, while 25 others have wound up on a city nuisance business watch list.
“Last year we issued 119 drug paraphernalia citations,” he said. “But in most of those cases, they complied, meaning that they removed the paraphernalia. … More often than not, we get compliance.”Despite these efforts, some neighbors, like Crystal Morris, president of the Wynnefield Residents Association, say they’ve noticed little change.Records show the city has struggled to shutter repeat offenders.
Some, like Morris, said keeping the businesses in line is a game of cat and mouse, with stores openly flouting cease-and-desist orders.
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