Casino Video Poker

A lawmaker from Greensboro has claimed to file that Video Poker games could be made legal in North Carolina and could generate $500 million tax revenue in a year. The State Rep. Earl Jones justifies that it be fair to bring back video poker as North Carolina has a state lottery.

The video poker machines became illegal in North Carolina in 2007 after almost a year of complaints due to the common use of machines in bars and stores. The old law prohibited video poker to offer cash payouts and that only a legally operating machine could offer token prizes worth $10.

It was reported by several Law Enforcement representatives that the machines were illegally awarding cash winnings of more than thousands of dollars. Complaints arose that gambling addicts spent too much money on machines that destroyed their families financially. Charlie Albertson has termed video poker games as the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling.

A Democrat, Earl Jones, found the above to be offensive. He claimed that he is tired of class paternalism of thinking one knows more than the other to how competent and accountable they are in spending their money.

He further states that most people engage in alcohol and self-destructive behavior while others can enjoy the same thing and concludes that casino video poker is not different from any others. One of the spokesmen of The Entertainment Group of North Carolina state that under the Democrat’s proposal, cash prizes would be awarded for video poker machines.

According to N.C. Department of Revenue game owners would be licensed and inspected with machines wired by telephone or internet to the department where it could monitor each machine’s income.

He stated that not more than five machines will be located in one place.

North Carolina’s treasury would take $480 - $500 million a year from its income of $2 billion and it would carry a 20% tax of the gross income which could help the state replace tax revenue. Tax increases on alcohol and cigarettes and new taxes on services that were not being taxed are being considered now by Legislators who have also placed several budget and program cuts with layoffs. A 50-50 chance of passing was estimated.

According to Albertson, the bill should fail leading to the efforts made in 2007 to ban the video poker machines. He claims that the city had a bad experience with the machines and still hears of repercussions.

He agrees that it would help the state from its financial crisis but does not think that video poker will solve the problem.

As word was received from Spokesman Shcoor Johnson, he claimed that Senate Leader Marc Basnight thought of video poker as one of the worst form of legalized gambling and that nothing could be benefited from it.

Speaker Joe Hackney has also disagreed with the idea of bringing back video poker and does not support the bill.

Court decision
The Superior Court Judge overturned the ban on video poker in the month of February and stayed the decision while it moves through the appeals process, as the machines would be legal again if the decision was upheld.

The Judge agreed to the suit filed by a former video poker operator who claimed that it was improper for North Carolina to allow the machines where the cash prizes have been awarded and still ban it everywhere in the state.

Due to Judge’s decision, Jones agreed to file the legislation.