Figuring the Odds : Stanton Officials Weigh Poker Parlor’s Fiscal Benefits Against Its Risks

For weeks, Stanton Mayor Sal Sapien has wrestled with a dilemma.

The city is in dire need of money, and a proposal that could bring it as much as $2.5 million a year without a tax increase is on the table. But the proposal is packed with controversy and already has aroused strong emotions.

It’s called a card club.

George Hardie, managing partner and general manager of a gambling operation known as the Bicycle Club in Bell Gardens, wants the council to put a measure on the ballot that would allow him to open a card club in Stanton if approved by the voters. Last month, he appeared at a City Council meeting to argue that fees from such a club could generate enough revenue to cover almost a third of Stanton’s proposed $10-million budget for fiscal 1987-88.

But Sapien and others have reservations.

“Gambling is definitely a revenue source, yet at the same time some people perceive it would have a negative impact on our city’s image,” said Sapien, a high school counselor whose concern is shared by many of the city’s 28,000 residents.

Said resident Lydia P. Medina at a recent council meeting: “The City of Stanton wants to improve its image. They’re not going to do it with a card club. The money is good, but it’s not that important.”

“The financial rewards may seem great,” said Councilwoman Marsha V. Weishaupt, but “I’m not willing to go to the bottom of the pit for it.”

The city’s need for money is multifaceted. Weishaupt said extra revenue to upgrade police and fire protection is essential.

With the loss of police officers from the 35-member force because of attrition, medical leaves and other reasons, it now takes 50 minutes for police to respond to non-emergency calls--which, Councilman Paul G. Verellen said, “hurts us a lot more than considering whether or not to allow a gambling measure.”

And at City Hall, the latest joke is speaking with pride about the Fire Department’s newest piece of equipment. “It’s a 19-year-old pumper truck,” one city official explained. In fact, the department’s 28 firefighters have only two trucks, a rebuilt 1967 Crown pumper and a 50-foot Crown snorkel, built in 1963, Fire Chief Jerrold Hunter said.

“The city’s going to have to address replacing something pretty quick,” Hunter said.

The city’s recent successful effort to drive prostitutes off its streets only added to its financial difficulties. Assistance from Orange County sheriff’s deputies cost the city about $300,000, and Stanton police officers ran up hundreds of hours of overtime, Weishaupt said.

City Manager Jim Buell said the city’s proposed budget for next year “shows us $250,000 short. It’s an indication that expenditure needs have been outstripping revenues.”

‘City Needs Revenue’

“I think the bottom line is the city needs revenue, and it may be the choice between a poker parlor and a tax increase,” Verellen said.

For now, City Council members are waiting for recommendations, expected in July, from the police chief, the city manager, the fire chief and the city attorney. Until then, little official action is expected.

In Southern California, playing poker is illegal except in Gardena, Commerce, Cudahy, Bell Gardens and Huntington Park, cities that have enacted special gambling ordinances.

If Stanton voters approved the proposed ballot measure, the city would become the first in Orange County to allow gambling since Anaheim closed its last card parlor on July 21, 1981.

Hardie, 53, who calls the Bicycle Club the “world’s largest” card casino, wants to build a 30,000-square-foot casino with 60 card tables and a 24-hour restaurant and cocktail lounge in Stanton. The proposed site is near Beach and Garden Grove boulevards.

The Stanton club would employ 600 employees with an estimated payroll of $7.5 million, Hardie said. His Bell Gardens club attracts 4,000 to 5,000 players daily and collects $65 million in gross revenues annually, according to Hardie’s figures.

Historically, Stanton has, on numerous occasions, rejected proposals that would have brought gambling and bingo to the city. In 1981, the City Council denied a card parlor proposal largely because of a negative recommendation by Ron Johnson, the former police chief.

Increase in Crime

Johnson argued that card clubs usually are accompanied by an increase in crime in their immediate areas. He pointed especially to legal violations involving bad checks, threats, robberies and assaults.

Hardie says those fears are unfounded.

The current proposal is especially sensitive for council members Sapien and Michael Pace. Both were elected on a reform platform in 1984. As candidates, both spoke against what they characterized as Stanton’s image of petty corruption and back-room wheeling and dealing.

In addition, Hardie’s decision to hire the Broadway Group to handle his relations with the city has made the council uncomfortable. The same consulting firm, headed by Dennis DeSnoo of Santa Ana, helped elect four of the five current council members--Sapien, Pace, Verellen and Ed Allen.

“It makes all of us uncomfortable because it makes us look like we’re walking down the street hand-in-hand with Hardie,” Pace said.

DeSnoo denied any connection between his former and current clients.

“We’re studying the feasibility of the Stanton club, whether the land and market exists, and whether voters will approve it,” DeSnoo said.

“This is a difficult issue for us,” said Verellen, who also promised to improve Stanton’s image while campaigning before last November’s election. “I don’t want something in the city that isn’t going to benefit the city. However, we have some very serious problems, especially coming up with enough revenue to help the Police Department.”

Citizens Committee

Sapien is attempting to mount support for a blue-ribbon citizens committee to study Hardie’s proposal, but he hasn’t won the support of the rest of the council.

Should the card-club proposal survive the recommendations of the city department heads, the council would retain control of the ballot language to ensure tough financial controls on the casino, council members said.

Hardie has ruled out putting a measure on the ballot through the petition process, saying he will build the casino in Stanton only if he has the support and cooperation of city officials.

As for fears about crime, including speculation about increased prostitution and organized-crime influence, Hardie insists they are unfounded. He said he welcomes the state’s stringent screening process for licensees for card clubs.

“In my case, I’ve been in the public’s eye ever since 1970,” Hardie said. “I’ve been screened by the state attorney general’s office, which has its own staff to conduct background checks, and have survived scrutiny by many police organized-crime details.”

Fears Unfounded

Similar fears that were expressed before construction of the Bell Gardens club were proved to be unfounded after the club was built in 1983, Hardie said. He bristles at the suggestion that prostitution would increase because of a card club.

“A prostitute takes a customer out of the club and uses his money he could be spending on poker,” Hardie said. “It’s ludicrous to me to think that prostitution would increase because of a club.”

Hardie has not bought any land in Stanton yet, but if he does and the proposal falls through, he will develop the land for commercial purposes, he said.

He has a similar card-club proposal pending in Cathedral City near Palm Springs, but said he selected Stanton because the proposed site is close to the freeways and could draw card players from Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.

“Also because of the new games we’re playing, that has enlarged our marketing area,” he said. “Ever since California’s passage of the lottery, there is a greater acceptance for gambling.

“Virtually everybody in the state goes to Las Vegas at one time or another. We’re just closer. Why not have it under control of the city where the city can benefit from the revenue, the hiring of employees and construction in their city?”