Garden Grove Card Club Proposal to Be Studied

A proposal unveiled Wednesday by a casino operator to open a card club here will be studied by officials as a way to raised money for the cash-strapped city.

The City Council, directing the city manager to investigate the idea, cited the estimated $2.5-million deficit this year. But council members also expressed reservations.

“I doubt that the city of Garden Grove will ever have a card parlor,” Councilman Bruce A. Broadwater said. The possibility that it would attract prostitution, drug use and organized crime would be too great, he said.

Broadwater also doubted that a card club would generate an annual $12 million in taxes for a city, as suggested by George Hardie, general manager of the Bicycle Club in Bell Gardens who offered the proposal.

The council voted 4 to 1 to investigate the proposal, with Councilman Mark Leyes, dissenting.

“I think the casino is a sucker’s bet. They’re very attractive but not worth it,” Leyes said.

Resident David Baugh also argued against the idea.

“It’s rolling the dice, and if you roll it right you’re going to win. And I don’t think that’s what we should teach our children,” said Baugh, father of three children.

But Resident Al Snook said a Las Vegas-type casino would attract visitors from the Pacific Rim and Disneyland tourists.

“It’s a quick fix,” Snook said. “It’s recession-proof, and it’s permanent.”

The proposal came just a day after Cypress officials voted to put a similar proposal before city voters in June.

The 24-hour card club proposed for Los Alamitos Race Course would become Orange County’s first. A similar plan a few years ago failed to muster support in Stanton.

Card clubs are becoming attractive to many cash-strapped California cities because of their potential to pump quick cash into city coffers.

Gambling parlors are a controversial issue, often dividing the community. While some residents argue that the clubs provide tax revenues and employment, others are fearful of increased crime, drugs, traffic and prostitution in their neighborhoods.