Check out Helen Gym's recent blog entry over at Young Philly Politics on how a local casino, SugarHouse, has posted a job notice seeking an "Asian Marketing Executive" whose sole job is to attract and keep the loyalty of Asian clientele: Dept. of miserable jobs: Sugarhouse's Asian Marketing Executive.
Philadelphia, as you may remember, has experienced its share of hard-fought battles between concerned citizens and casino owners with proposed plans to build casinos in or near the Chinatown area. Because, you know, the "client base":
I have to echo Helen's incredulity over one of the job requirements: "Regularly required to walk, stand, see, talk and hear." Just so you know what you're getting into. Hey, even casinos have standards. Surprised they didn't add "breathe" to the list. Anyway, learn a few things about predatory gambling. Read the post and follow the links here.
The casino industry's well-known targeting of Asian communities provided the primary impetus behind Chinatown's fierce anti-casino battle and continued opposition to predatory gambling. Just as other communities of color have battled predatory targeting from the liquor and cigarette industry, Asians are clearly in the primary sights of the casino market.
While our fight may have started with Foxwoods landing on our borders, the issue couldn't stop there. Our concerns have always focused as much on the industry itself as it did on the location. Former Foxwoods Chair Michael Thomas summed it up best: After a exchange involving predatory gambling and the Asian community, Thomas told me, "You call it a gambling addiction, I call it a client base." (Sept. 10, 2008, City Hall press conference)
