San Gabriel Valley : Church Leaders Unite to Oppose Card Club
Church leaders in Azusa have united in opposition to a Dec. 12 ballot measure that would allow a card club to open in the canyon community.
“Every pastor at the Azusa Ministerial Assn. session this week voted to actively campaign against this card club,” said the Rev. John LeRoy of the First Assembly of God, head of the 20-church association, which includes the St. Francis Catholic Church and the Azusa Tabernacle.
The council recently voted 4 to 1 to put to the voters the question of whether the 50-table Azusa Grand Entertainment Center should be built.
The gambling club, planned for a vacant Price Club building in the 1000 block of Foothill Boulevard, was proposed by the owners of the Normandie Casino in Gardena.
Standing in his church near a banner proclaiming “Gaming Equals Gambling Equals Grief,” LeRoy said the Bible speaks out against gambling.
“Gambling for too many people is addictive. It destroys the family, causes spousal and and child abuse,” he said. “It will bring crimes like theft [and] prostitution.”
But card club developers say the project will create 1,500 jobs and generate $5 million in city revenue, which can be used to help pay for library books and police officers.
LeRoy’s church has already started distributing buttons against the club and the Catholic church is launching a voter registration drive.
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