Even though Stephen Holniker is a very mild-mannered man who speaks in a careful and deliberate fashion, the Carroll County resident has trouble suppressing anger over the fact that his company, Advent Technologies, was rebuffed in its efforts to sell its video poker machines in Maryland.
His company has contracts to provide video poker machines to lottery agencies in Louisiana and South Dakota. If Advent's machines are good enough for other states, he asks, why aren't they used here in his home state?
The answer he got from Gov. William Donald Schaefer's administration, a big promoter of "Buy Maryland," was no thanks. His company then filed a protest against the state's awarding of a $49 million contract to the current lottery contractor, GTECH Inc., of Rhode Island, to supply the state with video terminals for the new keno lottery game.
The answer he got from the Carroll County commissioners on the issue of supplying video poker equipment to fraternal organizations was: We are impressed with the sophistication of your machines, but our community doesn't want to encourage gambling.
One of Advent's machines was used last December in a demonstration on behalf of legalizing video poker in Carroll's fraternal lodges. Commissioner Elmer C. Lippy was effusive in praising Advent Technologies, but he and the other commissioners decided not to support an effort to permit video poker machines in the county's 10 lodges.
The second rebuff came when Mr. Holniker made an 11th-hour attempt to supply the state lottery agency with video terminals for the keno game. Intent on going ahead with the game, the Board of Public Works accepted GTECH's no-bid contract. Given that keno is now up and running, there is little likelihood that Mr. Holniker's protest will be upheld and the GTECH contract would be rescinded.
In a brown brick building tucked behind a cleaners on Old Frederick Road in Catonsville, Mr. Holniker is demonstrating the newest video poker machine his company produces.
Touch the screen and five cards pop up for a game of draw poker. Touch it again and the machine automatically discards the worthless cards and draws the replacements.
With an electronic burp, the machine lets you know that you have lost. Put another coin in the box and play another hand. Within minutes you can play a dozen hands and lose several dollars. Or win, if the cards are falling in your favor.
