There was a Christmas tree in the lobby, even a couple of toys under it. But the season's good cheer did not extend to a group of ministers who showed up at Two Gateway Center yesterday to protest a Hill District casino.

For about half an hour, security officials at Two Gateway Center prevented the ministers, most of whom were from the Hill, from delivering a letter to state Gaming Control Board offices on the 12th floor urging the board to reject the Isle of Capri's proposed casino.

Guards shut down the building's elevators to stop the group, about seven in all, from getting beyond the lobby. That also prevented workers in the building from getting to their offices.

The ministers even were left out in the cold for a time after security officials asked them to leave the building altogether.

The contingent included the Rev. Dr. Johnnie Monroe of Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Thomas Smith of Monumental Baptist Church, the Rev. Glenn Grayson of Wesley Center AME Zion Church, Dr. Ron Peters of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Kim Ellis, a Hill resident who has organized protests against the casino.

The ministers greeted their predicament with a mix of frustration and bemusement, as they tried to work out a compromise.

"I got on my good shoes. I didn't come to fight," the Rev. Grayson joked at one point.

With the elevator shut down, the group considered express mailing the letter to the board. After some 30 minutes of negotiation, consternation and cell phone calls to gaming board staffers, the ministers finally got their chance -- the Rev. Monroe was permitted to go upstairs to the office to drop off the letter.

"The building management blew this whole thing out of proportion," the Rev. Grayson said afterwards. "It shouldn't have taken all that drama to deliver one letter."

The building's manager could not be reached for comment afterwards, and security officials refused to discuss the incident.

Gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach said in an e-mail that security saw the ministers' visit as a "unique situation since a large crowd appeared with the media."

"The building security felt it was better to contain the crowd in the lobby since PGCB is not the only tenant on the 12th floor and a large crowd such as this could disrupt other tenants on that floor," he wrote.

Mr. Harbach said a gaming board staffer did go to the lobby to look into the situation and to say one person could go up to the 12th floor -- "but without TV cameras since these are investigative offices with confidential information."

The stand-off began after ministers held a press conference in the lobby to read their letter in opposition to the Isle of Capri proposal -- one of three for the coveted Pittsburgh license, to be awarded by Dec. 20.

In the letter, ministers said a casino in the predominantly African-American Hill District would "help to further disenfranchise this community, spiritually, socially and economically."

"This is not just about a billion-dollar Christmas gift for the city of Pittsburgh on Dec. 20," Ms. Ellis said. "This is about the impending inevitable destruction of a community."

The ministers said African Americans are four times more likely than whites to become problem gamblers.

"As we look around the nation where casinos are located in residential communities, we do not see the positive impact," the letter added. "What we find is an increase in poverty, addiction, crime, drugs, prostitution and other negatives that we do not want or need in our community."

Besides the Rev. Grayson, the Rev. Monroe, and the Rev. Smith, other clergy who signed the letter were the Rev. Dr. J. Van Alfred Winsett of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Rev. Calvin Cash of John Wesley AME Zion Church, the Rev. Victor Grigsby of Central Baptist Church and the Rev. Dr. James McLemore of Bethel AME Church.

Isle of Capri is willing to meet with the ministers to discuss their concerns, spokesman Les McMackin said.

"We would be more than happy to sit down with these individuals and have meaningful discussions because we believe and we've seen everywhere we operate the positive benefits we bring to a community," he said.

While the ministers raised concerns about the slots parlor being so close to the Hill, Mr. McMackin said one recent study found no correlation between the prevalence of problem gambling and the proximity of the casino. He said another has shown that casinos can bring benefits to communities, even more so in "economically challenged areas."

Mr. McMackin said Isle of Capri has talked to some of the ministers in the past. At those times, their concerns seemed to relate more to how far redevelopment would go up the Hill and whether their churches would be affected, he said.