07/07/2009

By GARY D. ROBERTSON  / Associated Press

Owners of arcade games and so-called "sweepstakes" machines asked lawmakers Tuesday to legalize video poker again in North Carolina, two years after the Legislature enacted a complete ban that since been threatened by legal challenges.

A House judiciary panel debated but took no vote on the measure, which would make video gambling machines lawful again, require $200 annual fees and make operators pay 20 percent of the money in the machines to the state.

Half of that income — estimated by the industry at $480 million although opponents argue it would be less — would go to poor school districts, while the rest would give a needed boost to the state's empty revenue coffers.

"We want to remove this cloud from our industry," said Chase Brooks of Alamance County, a spokesman for the Entertainment Group of North Carolina and owner of dozens of machines that offer cash and prizes. "We want taxation. We want regulation. We want complete oversight over what we do."

House and Senate leaders have said they want to retain the ban that took effect in July 2007. No additional debate was scheduled.

"I don't believe we intend to bring it up again," said Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake, a co-leader of the judiciary committee.

But lawmakers could soon be left with no choice but to revisit the ban after a Superior Court judge in February ruled North Carolina couldn't prohibit video poker machines in much of the state while allowing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to operate the same games.

While it was still legal, video poker became tainted because one of its biggest supporters was then-House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg. Black's campaign donations from the video poker industry were investigated extensively by state election officials. He is currently serving a federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to a corruption count unrelated to video poker.

Former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford also was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted last year of taking up to $300,000 in bribes from illegal video gambling operators while sheriff.

The Legislature had placed tight restrictions on video poker machines and payouts in 2000 that supporters hoped would eventually kill off the industry. But law officers kept seizing illegal machines brought in from out of state and paying cash jackpots.

The new bill's sponsor, Rep. Earl Jones, D-Guilford, said the problem with the old law was that county sheriffs were directed to enforce the restrictions on video poker but they didn't have the staff or funding to go after the illegal machines and ensure payouts didn't exceed the maximum of $10 in merchandise.

"Poor government and public policy were responsible for a lot of the problems that (existed) in the past," Jones told the committee.

In West Virginia, where video poker and slot machines have been licensed for eight years, they generated $411 million in state revenue during the last fiscal year.

"There's no reason to think it wouldn't run very smoothly in the state of North Carolina," Jones said.

Brooks said legalizing machines again would also generate or save 35,000 jobs in the amusement machine industry, as well as at bars and convenience stores where they used to operate.

The Rev. Mark Creech with the Christian Action League of North Carolina, said the state shouldn't risk losing its own soul by expanding gambling. North Carolina lawmakers approved a state-run lottery in 2005.

"Times have changed, but the nature of video poker has not changed," Creech said. "Video poker brought both heartache and shame to our state."

Rep. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said he opposes video poker but suggested that the issue should be considered further.

"I would say that something has to be done," Moore said. "It does appear that the courts are at least going in some direction, saying what we have right now will not work."