The first casino in the City of Philadelphia is due to open its doors to the general public for the first time today, and New Jersey gaming regulators are eyeing the debut with much wariness. Although gambling has been legalized in Pennsylvania for six years already, the opening of the city’s first casino marks a turning point in the battle fought on the public front.

The Sugarhouse Casino in Philadelphia is not the state’s first casino – it is in fact its 10th. However, its close proximity to Atlantic City (only an hour’s drive) means that officials in the shore town are worried that it will take away much needed business to the casinos.

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission tried to play down the threat and said that the opening of the Sugarhouse Casino will “have more of a cannibalization effect on Pennsylvania’s casinos that it will have on Atlantic City.” However, the Chairwoman for the commission, Linda Kasserkert said that the timing of the opening is of concern. “We’re at a point in our season where business drops off because summer is ending,” she said. “That’s troubling. Our casinos will feel it from that standpoint.”

The new Sugarhouse Casino – which took under a year to build - will boast 1600 slot machines, as well as forty table games, including blackjack, poker, roulette and others. A large percentage of people who gamble in Atlantic City travel from the Philadelphia region, and New Jersey officials fear – off the record – that many of those customers will now stay at home.

The state is set to earn around $1 billion over the first five years of the casino’s operation, and Philadelphia – with a population of over 1.55 million people – will be the biggest city in the state to have access to casino gambling.

Which members of congress are the best when it comes to supporting the legalization of online poker? The Poker Players Alliance decided to rate members of Congress based on their willingness to fight for the cause that is closest to the hearts of over one million PPA members.

“The poker community has made tremendous progress over the past two years in educating members of Congress on the benefits of regulating online poker,” said former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, who now serves as chairman of the Poker Players Alliance.

“The grades in our 2010 Congressional Ratings Guide indicate that progress, but also underscore that more needs to be done,” D’Amato said.

Members of Congress from Nevada received particularly good marks for the support of the legalization and regulation of online poker. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas, earned herself top marks with an A+.

Others who received good grades were Rep. Dina Titus (D-Las Vegas) and Rep. Dean Heller (R-Reno), who both scored an A. A lower – but relatively good – B grade was given to Republican Senator John Ensign and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

There was also an overall improvement in the number of members of congress who learned D’s and F’s. In 2008, a dismal 258 members were graded with these scores, while ‘only’ 194 received a D or an F this year.

A total of 91 members of congress received an A this year.

So what made the Nevada team earn such high scoring? For one, all the members of the five-person delegation (except Senator John Ensign) corresponded with letters of support in favor of the rights of online poker players. In addition, a couple co-sponsored legislation that is being backed by the PPA.

The PPA Congressional Ratings Guide can be viewed in its entirety at http://www.congressionalpoker.org/