On the other comes the gambling industry, which elected officials have begun to accept as a ready source of revenue for education and capital improvements. On one hand stands the church, which has always roundly condemned gambling as a vice that will destroy the family. Two worlds are colliding here and, increasingly, throughout the Bible Belt. Around the corner is the Lady Bug video poker parlor and nearby the Scotchman convenience store offers its own 'Poker World' near the packaged cakes. The other says, 'At Beulah Baptist Church, You Are Always Welcome.' At the community's lone stoplight, the Little River United Methodist Church is across the street from the Mardi Gras Too video poker parlor. On the northern approach into this rapidly changing coastal village, two billboards stand at odds: One advertises the Monte Carlo Casino, open 24 hours.
