Religious Leaders Call Out Potential Irving Casinos

Several local faith leaders are ringing alarm bells about casino gambling possibly coming to Irving.

Both Christian and Muslim figures came together to oppose the possible rezoning of land near the old Texas Stadium that could result in a Casino being built in the metroplex.

“Though the Bible does not speak directly to the issues of casinos, there are warnings given to us about the dangers of gaining wealth too quickly (Proverbs 13:11), and also, dangers in seeking wealth hoping that it satisfies the cravings of the heart- which it does not (Ecclesiastes 5:10). We believe only Jesus Christ satisfies the true cravings that we long for in our hearts,” Blair Robinson, the Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church of Irving, told The Dallas Express.

Gaining wealth was not his only concern; he also focused on what could be lost.

“For me, what’s also concerning from the Bible is the warning that the Apostle Paul gives to the church in 1 Timothy 6:10; For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils,” he said. “The additional threats that these casino venues can produce, e.g for other sins to flourish, truly puts angst in my heart. Higher crime typically accompanies casinos, as well as prostitution and human trafficking. We do not want anything added to the brokenness that’s already abundant in our city.”

Blair turned his message toward hope and salvation.

“We do have glorious good news for anyone in our city who is hurting and wanting eternal hope, and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s good news because we want people to hear and believe that their sins can be forgiven because Jesus died on the cross. That’s our primary concern with the people of Irving, that they would hear this news and put their trust in Jesus.”

He concluded his thoughts by adding, “We also have a responsibility to our community to keep it safe and to keep people from further brokenness and destruction. So that’s why we feel it necessary to speak up.”

Imam Saeed Purcell of the Islamic Center of Irving echoed these sentiments.

Purcell noted that Islamic texts acknowledge potential benefits to gambling, such as gaining wealth, but that the harms outweigh the benefits. He said that some of these passages address gambling and drinking, something that frequently co-occurs with gambling in casinos, and that they present mutual dangers to the individual and society.

He explained that “if a person of faith is genuinely committed to their beliefs and their convictions,” they should oppose the creation of a place where so many people might be corrupted.

Purcell implied that any effort to police or confine undesirable activity to merely the confines of adults who choose to enter the Casino would likely be ineffective because he believes the City of Irving has already failed to police local card houses. Purcell shared that he knew of instances where minors had turned up in the card houses and that the City Council was aware of these problems.

The imam cautioned that the proposed premiere resort, which may include a casino, is “four million square feet, 10x the size of the Gaylord [in Grapevine].” Rhetorically, he questioned how a property this size would be effectively regulated if a far smaller card house could not be.

Purcell also took issue with the city’s process for pursuing the March 20 rezoning vote, having only made the public aware of the upcoming vote roughly three weeks beforehand. He pointed out that this vote has been scheduled around the same time as Easter, Purim, Passover, and Ramadan, a period when religious people would have less free time to oppose the project.

To his point, the first town hall on the subject will be held on Friday, March 14, at 6 p.m., which marks the Hindu holiday of Holi and the start of the St Patrick’s Day weekend.

However, some city council members such as Mark Cronenwett (D-5) have stated that the process is going as well as it can, explaining that, “There’s not been any effort by the city to conceal from the public what they’re entitled to know about. I would also add that the speed at which this has been brought to the city has been due to business considerations and for that reason, the city is responding as best it can to what’s being presented to it.”

DX reported that the debate over the potential for a casino near the site of the old Dallas Cowboys stadium has become increasingly contentious. Every speaker who attended a recent Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on the project objected to some aspect.

Proponents, including the Texas Destination Resort Alliance (TDSA), which the Las Vegas Sands Corp supports, say casinos would benefit the city and state economically.

The TDSA website says, “Revenue raised from these new sites could provide funding for public education and public higher education, for the arts as well as for public safety and law enforcement.”

The organization’s website also says, “Each new project would create thousands of construction jobs, and tens of thousands of permanent new jobs in new and existing hotels, convention centers, restaurants, retail centers, and offices.”

Cronenwett told DX that the March 20 City Council meeting could result in the council taking various actions, including pursuing the project, reforming it, or delaying the vote for another date.

Should the council sign off on rezoning, it will be the first part of a multi-step process that could bring casinos to DFW. Later steps would involve changing state gambling laws, which can only be done by amending Texas’s constitution. Such action would require two-thirds approval in the Texas House and Senate and the approval of a majority of voters on a statewide ballot.