Kingdom come: an Indian-owned casino would transform Kings Mountain, sparking a hot debate mixing politics, religion and neon lights.

• Author: Mildenberg, David
• Position: Town Square

On the eve of Christmas Eve, the flashing light show spread across old two-story buildings on Kings Mountain's main street sends Mayor Scott Neisler into a state of holiday bliss. "It is the Color Cosmic Christmas Tree. Make sure you get that name right." It's an impressive show, but nothing like the blizzard of neon certain to appear should federal authorities approve the Catawba Indian Nation's plans for a 220,000-square-foot casino just off Interstate 85, less than five miles south of town. Nearby looms the namesake Kings Mountain, site of an important 1780 Revolutionary War battle and now home to a national park in South Carolina.

The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is studying the 2-year-old request, which, literally, would be a game-changer for a town used to playing second fiddle to Shelby, its bigger Cleveland County neighbor. The gambling complex and related hotels, restaurants and other venues could hire more than 4,000 people and buy as much electricity from the city-owned municipal system as the rest of the town combined, Neisler says. It also could be a jackpot for the 2,800-member Catawba tribe, landowner Jim Testa and project developers led by Greenville, S.C. video-poker entrepreneur Wallace Cheves. It also might cause some indigestion for the Cherokee Nation's two western North Carolina casinos, which are more remote than this one would be.

Before the dice start flying and slot machines shake, however, casino promoters have many hurdles to overcome, including political opposition and a legal debate over whether the South Carolina-based Indian tribe can operate across the state line. Efforts for a Palmetto State site failed.

No challenge may be more daunting than countering the passion of Kings Mountain's religious community, especially anti-gambling advocate Adam Forcade. He and his wife, Cynthia, have attended every weekly city council meeting over the last year, sharing their latest arguments during the three-minute-per-speaker public comment portion. They've organized a core group of about 150 supporters and visited Washington to lobby federal regulators. Never active in politics before, Adam Forcade felt called to fight based on his religious views and research showing that gambling doesn't benefit local economies and, in most cases, hurts. He is a board member of a Washington-based nonprofit, Stop Predatory Gambling, which lobbies against casinos nationally.

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In a small town with more than 75...