Church wants to minister to racino customers - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

AUSTINTOWN, Ohio - Work on the Hollywood Mahoning Valley Racecourse is said to be on schedule.

The $125million racino project will certainly help spur business in the Austintown area where it will be built.

But a soon-to-be neighbor to the racino says they will be offering their own unique service to race track clientele.

Pastor Terry Snyder didn't know when he leased the property for his church in 2010 that a racino would be built next door but he said "God knew through."

Log Cabin Ministries usually gets a dozen or so people for Sunday night services.

Snyder says when the racino opens they want to be ready to help those who need it most. "When people get down, they do things they normally wouldn't do. If we can be here for a light or a support system for them, because when they come out they are going to need something. I want to expand the times we are open. I want to expand the number of services we have," Snyder said.

Pastor Snyder used to be a truck stop Chaplin in Girard before expanding the First Baptist Church of Newton Falls into this location.

While the racino is expected to create over a thousand jobs, he says he doesn't have many nice things to say about what it will do to the community. "Whenever a community reaches in to the gambling and racetrack kind of thing for their financial stability I think we're at the bottom of the barrel," Snyder said.

He says he hasn't asked whether his landlord will sell the property once the racino is built. He feels that question will be addressed by "the man upstairs."