Pastors see high cost in gambling

Byron Dobson: Pastors see high cost in gambling
Byron Dobson
Associate Editor

For the sliver of a town that Gretna is in nearby Gadsden County, it's certainly getting its share of attention.

That spotlight is not necessarily aimed at the small, rural community of about 1,700 residents for what it is now, but what it could become.

In nine days, residents of Gadsden County will have a chance to vote on allowing slot machines to be added to the barrel racing and card game attractions that are already in operation at a newly built complex in Gretna, a town that is 85 percent black and with an unemployment rate of 24 percent.

Money will drive this vote, for many reasons. Elected officials in Gadsden County are hard-pressed to turn down an outside operation flush with cash that wants to invest there. The creation of jobs is just that important, as well as what additional taxes would mean toward the quality of life. Last year, the successful lobbying to land a national solar farm was greeted with cheers and high-fives, in stark contrast to the organized opposition that forced a major coal-powered energy operation to look elsewhere a few years earlier.

Of the 170 or so already employed at Creek Entertainment Gretna, about 70 percent are from Gadsden County. And an expansion that includes slot machines means even more jobs, though a vote in the affirmative could initially be rendered moot and dependant on the outcome of what is sure to be a legal challenge. Suddenly, the pedestrian-level appeal that slots will bring jobs to a poor rural area moves to an arena where decisions will be made by a handful of blue-chip attorneys.

I met this week with the Rev. Charles Scriven, a Tallahassee resident who was pastor at Beulah Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Gretna from 1991 to 2001 and who now leads a handful of the faithful at Corinth Christian Fellowship in Midway. He's hoping that the vote is a thumbs-down. Scriven, who turns 80 this year, is leading a racially diverse, multidenominational group of pastors in opposing slot machines and casino-style gambling.

He has reached into his pockets to pay for yard signs and fliers to spread the message that money generated from slot machines will not be the economic engine that strikes gold for Gretna.

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One of those standing on the opposite side is former state Sen. Al Lawson Jr., a native of Gadsden County who was instrumental in getting legislation passed that gives residents of Gadsden the freedom to vote their conscience on this issue. He is revered by many in Gadsden County as one of their own who often championed legislation to benefit his district, which included Gadsden County. Now in private business, he has signed on as a paid consultant for Creek Entertainment Gretna, which has the powerful financial backing of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

He's wondering where Scriven and other opposing pastors have been all of this time. When the Gadsden County Commission decided last fall to place the referendum on the Jan. 31 ballot, nobody spoke publicly against it before the vote.

My bet is that voters will overwhelmingly approve slots, even though there won't be enough well-paying jobs offered to cure Gretna's unemployment problem. Look at what happened last fall during an initial appeal to fill jobs. Several hundred people showed up for maybe 100 positions.

These are the kinds of odds that worry Scriven and other pastors. Scriven says he remembers the same sense of hope that came over the community when plans were announced that a private prison was coming to Gadsden County. There weren't enough jobs to go around, and many were filled by noncounty residents.

He fears a repeat with expanding gaming operations. Jobs will be limited to lower-paying positions. More importantly, he fears that parents who are barely making it will spend their money on the very limited chance of beating the house. And there will be more crime as desperate outsiders prey on those pocketing winnings on the inside.

"You are destroying the fabric of the community when you have an industry that saps the very soul of an individual and his livelihood," Scriven said. "You are looking at the very poor living on the edge who are trying to make it. It's contrary to the spirit of Christ. If you are a Christian, there are some things that you can't do because of your commitment to Christ."

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Scriven is no doubt influenced by his background in law enforcement and the ministry. He spent 20 years with the Jacksonville Police Department/Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, becoming the first black division chief at the Sheriff's Office. He was then appointed by Gov. Reubin Askew in 1975 to the state's Parole and Probation Commission, becoming the first black person to serve on the commission. He then worked for the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, retiring as captain.

Scriven believes that supporters are selling out to false promises. He also says that Gadsden County commissioners simply found an out by agreeing to the referendum. "By saying, 'Let the people decide,' the people have never decided anything in (Gadsden) County," he said.

Joining Scriven in opposing slot machines is the Rev. Eric Erskine, pastor of First Baptist Church of Havana for the past 15 years. "This is not something that's going to be a good thing for Gadsden County," he said. "It's going to bring a lot of pain, difficulty and hardships to families. They are touting a lot of jobs, but there are other factors. A lot of these casinos become a city unto themselves; they have their own hotel, so there's no need to leave. The other businesses are not going to benefit."

Lawson says he's curious about why the pastors are speaking out two weeks before the vote. He points out the 24-percent unemployment figure for minorities in the Gretna area. Many of those who fill buses to Biloxi and Atmore, Ala., are churchgoers. It's not necessarily true that poor Gadsden County residents will be spending their grocery money at the slots and card tables, since it's more likely to attract outsiders who have additional money to spend on entertainment.

"They say they are against the slots, but their members play the lottery all the time," Lawson said. "I think the people will decide if they want slots or not. Poor people, not just minorities, were pushing to get a referendum. They need jobs."

Which leaves the pastors wondering: At what cost?