HUNTINGTON PARK : Casino Gets Nod to Host Boxing

Contrary to the wishes of about 200 who attended last week’s City Council meeting, the council unanimously approved a conditional-use permit to allow the Huntington Park Casino to hold boxing matches and other sports events.

Peter Broudy, president of Celebrity Boxing Inc. of Los Angeles, said the casino will also host professional wrestling matches. The sporting event room, the site of the original casino before this year’s expansion, will seat 1,000.

“Casinos and professional sports go hand-in-hand,” Broudy said.

According to the promoter, the Huntington Park Casino will not receive any revenue from sporting events, the first of which is a Wednesday boxing match between “Bazooka” Limon of Tlaxcala, Mexico, and John Armijo of Huntington Beach.

Jack Schwieterman, general manager of the 10-year-old casino, said his facility welcomes sports like boxing and wrestling for the publicity and prestige associated with them.

However, residents who addressed the City Council on Monday night begged to differ. Many of the 70 who spoke out were worried about effects of casino gambling on the city’s youth.

Mayor Pro Tem Rosario Marin pointed out during the meeting that state law does not prohibit minors from entering a casino’s premises.

But Schwieterman said that no one under 21 is allowed into the Huntington Park Casino.

In part to appease the vocal opposition, the council attached several stipulations to the conditional-use permit:

When people younger than 21 attend sports events, the city said, no gaming tables are to be in the entertainment area and the windows between the event room and the gaming tables must be curtained.

The council also required that the casino install security cameras at the building’s entrance, that it hire at least one security guard for every 100 patrons during the events, and that the casinos’ private security guards wear uniforms that are not too similar to those worn by police officers.

And last, the council said that the “casino” sign inside the building cannot be lit during sports events.

“I used to go to the casino to gamble and . . . I know it’s not a good place for kids,” said a man who identified himself before the council as Alex Figueroa, an ex-gang member.

Several who spoke referred to an Aug. 18 incident in front of the casino in which five males and five females were arrested after a series of brawls in the casino moved outside. Reports state that three of the females who were arrested were minors who told police that they had entered the casino using illegally obtained IDs.