As has been discussed in another thread in the Hockey forum, the only reason the Penguins are considering moving is because the governments of Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania turned down a proposal by Isle of Capri -- a proposal which was contractually endorsed by the Penguins -- to build a state of the art arena in downtown Pittsburgh for $290 million at
zero cost to taxpayers and the state, conditional on Isle of Capri being granted the license to build the only casino in Pittsburgh (the whole issue of governments relying more and more on gambling revenue in order to continue to function is a topic for another thread).
The process of picking the slot license winners in Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania cities dragged on for over a year after the Pennsylvania legislature decided to sanction gambling (in addition to its long-established lotteries). Early on, the word on the street was that "the fix was in" when it came to Pittsburgh -- Isle of Capri didn't have a chance, because politicians were receiving bribes to grant the casino license to Harrahs, which possesses much deeper pockets than Isle of Capri.
As it turns out, the winner of the slots license was Don Barden, a black businessman from Detroit.ÂÂ
Why did Barden win? According to today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it was because of his "charisma." Yes, like all Negroes, Barden was gifted with great charisma. In fact, the very first sentence of the article states:
Businessman Don Barden won over the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board with a casino proposal that represented the "best fit" for Pittsburgh and a personal charisma that spoke volumes about his dedication to the project.
Poor Whitey just doesn't stand a chance against blacks anymore, given his sad inability to generate charisma.
Another pertinent note about this whole arena/gambling debacle. When Three Rivers Stadium was demolished in 2001, more unpaid debt was still owed on its construction than what it cost originally to build in 1970, thanks to the magic of usery, the real engine of America's casino capitalism economy. Pittsburgh could have had an arena built at no cost, but instead, if one is built at all, the taxpayers/suckers will be stuck with the burden of its construction for decades to come.
Below is the link to the P-G article. I didn't read all of it, so can't say whether it states anywhere that Barden also has a "room brightening smile."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07033/758892-336.stm