news-record.com

RALEIGH — Gov. Mike Easley wasn’t expecting a bill dealing with what opponents called the second coming of video poker to hit his desk this summer.

“I actually was surprised,” Easley said last week, days after signing the measure into law. “I didn’t know that was out there and I’m glad we have abolished it.”

The General Assembly ended the first coming of legal video poker machines with a bill passed in 2006 that fully took force on July 1, 2007. The standalone boxes were not supposed to grant cash prizes and were supposed to be restricted to no more than three per establishment. Lawmakers outlawed the machines after numerous cases involving illegally operated machines cropped up.

Soon after, the state began to see an influx of games tied to computer servers and based on a sweepstakes-type scheme. Players buy phone or Internet time and also get entries in a sweepstakes.

Then, as described by lawyers, lobbyists and court filings, customers use a computer game that looks like a slot machine to learn if they won. Advocates for the machines argued the system was no different from finding a secret code under a Pepsi cap.

State Alcohol Law Enforcement Agents took a different view and began raiding businesses that used the video slot machines.

But county district attorneys took differing views of the law, with some refusing to prosecute cases. Two video slot companies — Hest Technologies and international Internet Technologies — sued in Guilford County court to stop the raids.

News of the new gaming system prompted lawmakers to craft a law that closed the sweepstakes loophole. That bill goes into effect Dec. 1.

It is unclear what effect the new law will have on the Guilford County lawsuit, which sought to have the games declared legal. A trial date has been set in the case for March of next year.

Judge John Craig, who is presiding over the case, said that the new law would not have an immediate effect on the case. A preliminary injunction ordering the ALE to stop bringing actions against certain types of machines remains in effect.

“Everything is status quo until then (Dec. 1),” Craig said of the suit.

Officials with the attorney general’s office said that a gag order issued by Craig prevents them from commenting on the new law and its impact on the case. A lawyer for the video slot companies did not return phone calls Friday.

Rockingham County District Attorney Phil Berger Jr. was forced to dismiss about a dozen cases this year because of confusion over where the law stands.

“Come Dec. 1, I think it’s pretty clear where the law stands,” Berger said.

Guilford County District Attorney Doug Henderson said he had not read the law, but added his understanding was that the video slot machines would be put out of business by the new legislation.

Whether this is the end of video poker in North Carolina, officials are hopeful but have their doubts. With so much money to be made through gambling, there are incentives for people to find new ways to circumvent the law. One legislator likened the effort to “whack-a-mole.”

When asked, Easley said, “I hope we are done with it. But with the electronic world we’re in today, I don’t know if you’re ever done with these video poker situations ... So we’ll just have to keep a watchful eye on that.”

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com