Internet Sweepstakes Center...

[hubba1]

So the old Fantes flooring next to the state store up on 29th(?) and Snyder now has a sign stating it to be an Internet Sweepstakes center.. reminded me of the posts about something like this in the Northeast a few months back. Anyone have any idea what this is?

[Litter Box]

So the old Fantes flooring next to the state store up on 29th(?) and Snyder now has a sign stating it to be an Internet Sweepstakes center.. reminded me of the posts about something like this in the Northeast a few months back. Anyone have any idea what this is?

Sounds like a call center gone modern, aka spam in your inbox.

[tsarstruck]

Ugh. Call L&I immediately.

[Sean]

So the old Fantes flooring next to the state store up on 29th(?) and Snyder now has a sign stating it to be an Internet Sweepstakes center.. reminded me of the posts about something like this in the Northeast a few months back. Anyone have any idea what this is?

I did a quick search online and it seems like they are an internet gaming cafe, possibly associated with forms of gambling. I don't have time right now to do a more detailed search. However, from the news articles I saw from other states, internet gaming does not mean WoW, or anything like that.

[tsarstruck]

What's the address? These places are predatory and illegal; they set up shop quickly, churn out money, and then move on at the first sign of resistance.

[Jayfar]

Wonder if this is another attempt by the clowns who were recently chased out of fishtown after their landlord found out what they were up to.

http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/fo...ming-soon.html

If so, it's a very bad thing. Stock up on tar, feather, torches and pitchforks now!

The Casino Next Door - BusinessWeek

[hubba1]

Yea, I was thinking along those lines also, Jayfar... the address is 24th and Oregon, not sure of the exact number... it is next door to the Wine and Spirits shop.

[hubba1]

so..that place I mention in South Philly a few months ago...
Internet Sweepstakes Café Opens In Philly

[gijyun]

"...the owners say they're just catering to the local neighborhood and trying to give folks like senior citizens a little fun."

Predators. Plain and simple.

[hubba1]

and it's the same owners that had the Fante flooring store there previously... I actually went to school with the girl who is now married to one of the Fantes, and she actually posted this story on facebook yesterday to advertise that they are open. Kinda upset that I directly know someone involved in this scam.

[tsarstruck]

and it's the same owners that had the Fante flooring store there previously... I actually went to school with the girl who is now married to one of the Fantes, and she actually posted this story on facebook yesterday to advertise that they are open. Kinda upset that I directly know someone involved in this scam.

Does the Fante family own any other businesses?

[hubba1]

Does the Fante family own any other businesses?

Her husbands facebook also lists a place called "Fante's Italian kitchen in Ridley park" as a business, not sure what the status of that is though. I don't think they are related to the Fantes in the Italian Market though.

[Litter Box]

Her husbands facebook also lists a place called "Fante's Italian kitchen in Ridley park" as a business, not sure what the status of that is though. I don't think they are related to the Fantes in the Italian Market though.

The Fante's cooking supplies has not been owned by a Fante in about 30 years. I don't know about the flooring business.

[hubba1]

The flooring business was owned by them (at least as recently as last year... I saw some pics of the Fantes flooring christmas party on her facebook, lol)

[Wifi]

If you think about it, it's a perfect place to have this.

BOYB with cheap booze next door. Computers might run 50k for all that gear, but they can pull in 10k a night with video poker. This place is no different than an internet cafe.

This is a good turn key business: Internet Cafe Games Business, Internet Sweepstakes Games Cafe

It's just a business model. Like Bingo while breaking the digital divide!

B I N G O

[Jayfar]

Gambling on a loophole - The Daily

The sign outside promises jackpots of $100,000. The games inside carry names like Powerbomb Keno, Classic 7’s and Texas Treasures.

But walk inside Eric Fante’s and Chris Carvell’s storefront in South Philadelphia, and you’ll be asked to sign a waiver stating that you aren’t gambling.

Tell that to Sable Jones, who says she has spent every day for the past week at the pair’s Internet Sweepstakes Café.

“I’ve never gambled this much in my life,” Jones said.

Wait. Isn’t gambling illegal?

“Obviously,” Carvell said, “it’s a loophole. But it’s within the law.”

Whatever it is, it’s a new business model popping up across the United States. Like the store run by Fante and Carvell, they are called Internet sweepstakes cafés. Fante’s business, tucked in a rundown strip mall between a liquor store and Meineke brake shop, may be unique to Philadelphia. But there are more than a dozen in Pennsylvania. Florida may have more than 1,000. Wherever they are, they operate in strip malls, often near low-income areas.

[snip]

[Mame]

PHILADELPHIA - Police, FBI and state authorities raided an Internet sweepstakes café located in South Philadelphia on Monday morning.

The raid at 20th Street and Oregon Avenue was conducted by a dozen officers and agents.

The Internet sweepstakes café has been open since early March, and it has been the subject of a two-month undercover investigation led by the police department's Citywide Vice Enforcement Unit.

FOX 29's Dave Schratwieser reported that agents expected to seize 30 to 40 computers and equipment as well as records inside the establishment.

This is one of 14 sweepstakes cafes currently in Pennsylvania. Operators claim there is a loophole in the state gaming law that allows for their businesses.

Philadelphia's contention is that these Internet cafés are not legal, and that's why they're conducting the raid, Schratwieser reported.


Raid Targets Internet Sweepstakes Café In South Philadelphia

[mixiboi]

"...the owners say they're just catering to the local neighborhood and trying to give folks like senior citizens a little fun."

Predators. Plain and simple.

Hey if churches(and the state) can get away with it....

[sjd]

People get your information correct before you call anything a scam!There`s about 10,000 of these across the nation that are ALL LEGAL!

[sjd]

If our goverment can exploit every loophole they make, why can`t the average citizen!