Video Poker Machines

If slots are so bad, what about lotteries and other gambling?I agree with The Sun's editorial regarding South Carolina's ubiquitous video poker machines ("Silencing South Carolina slots," Oct. 17). However, I fail to see the difference between the seduction of video poker machines and a state-sponsored daily lottery.How is a vending machine selling "Scratch-Offs" in a grocery store any safer for players than a poker machine in a laundromat?In fact, the video poker machines don't have slick TV commercials seducing folks with dreams of riches.

The former chief inspector of the Baltimore City Liquor Board was getting cash payments for servicing video poker machines owned by William J. Madonna, a former state delegate and Waverly bar owner, a jury was told yesterday.Donald Harlow, a former city liquor inspector, testified in city Circuit Court that he witnessed Anthony J. Cianferano stuffing cash in his pockets -- money that was paid to Cianferano in return for the work he did for Madonna.Harlow, who was hired by Madonna after serving a six-year jail term for assault with intent to murder, was one of two key witnesses to testify in the bribery and conspiracy trial of Madonna and Cianferano.

The state prosecutor has subpoenaed the personal financial records of a top enforcement official in the Baltimore liquor board as part of a wide-ranging investigation of allegations of corruption at the agency.Chief inspector Anthony J. Cianferano said that his records were subpoenaed recently. He referred all questions to his attorney, Robert Steinberg, who could not be reached for comment despite repeated calls.Sources have told The Sun that State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli is probing charges that some former city liquor inspectors, while on the board's payroll, routinely serviced video poker machines belonging to William J. Madonna Jr., a politically connected former bar owner who was recently a candidate for the top administrative job at the board.

Each Wednesday night at Towson United Methodist Church, about 20 compulsive gamblers gather around tables and tell stories that most of us would never admit.At a recent meeting, a retired nurse described how she liquidated her ranch house by betting $20 a spin on illegal video poker machines in Baltimore County. An antiques dealer from Cockeysville acknowledged selling his parents' silverware to support his gambling habit.Tales of failure are common at meetings of Towson's Gamblers Anonymous (GA)

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?

A Baltimore County liquor board regulation prohibits payoffs to players of the video poker machines that are fixtures in many local taverns. But, in the parlance of poker, the rule is a bluff.Undercover detectives spend hours and tax-dollars to nab bar owners making illegal payments. Yet the accused routinely are given probation before judgment (PBJ) in court. They escape real punishment because of a 12-year-old clause in the liquor board regulations, which says a bar owner's license can't be revoked unless he is found guilty of, or pleads "no contest" to, gambling charges.

The two undercover Baltimore County vice detectives sat quietly in New Monaghan's Pub late on July 22, watching, they said, as players collected allegedly illegal winnings after playing the bar's three video poker machines.The next day, police returned to the bar in the 2100 block of Gwynn Oak Ave. with a warrant and seized all three machines and $2,504.A criminal trial for the licensees and bartender is set for Oct. 14.Whatever the outcome of the criminal gambling charges, the three licensees probably won't be in additional jeopardy from the county liquor board -- thanks to an obscure, 12-year-old clause in the board's rules that prevents it from acting against most bar owners who allow gambling in their businesses.

Carroll commissioners agreed yesterday not to legalize video poker machines in county fraternal clubs because of a state investigation into slot machine use by similar clubs on the Eastern Shore.The news last week about two investigations on the Eastern Shore was "the straw that broke the camel's back," Commissioner Elmer C. Lippy said last night.Last week, representatives of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Moose and Elks demonstrated the machines for the commissioners and urged them to ask Carroll's General Assembly delegation to introduce legislation next year to legalize the machines.

Four unlicensed video poker machines were seized yesterday from a Veterans of Foreign Wars club in Crisfield during a series of gambling raids across Maryland by the State Police.They served search warrants to vending machine businesses in Carroll, Prince George's and Somerset counties, seizing records in connection with a nine-month undercover investigation into the transportation and use of gambling machines in Maryland and across state lines, authorities said last night.Thomas Rye, 49, of Jarrettsville, owner of LBJ Enterprises, and John Obradovic, 48, of Severna Park, owner of JMO Associates, were charged with illegal possession of slot machines.

Carroll County's fraternal organizations should not be allowed to bully the county commissioners and State House delegation into legalizing video poker machines in the county. While video poker games would be a lucrative source of revenue for these clubs, the price for the rest of society is far too high.Video poker machines are nothing more than glorified electronic slot machines. The machines usually offer players a choice of 10 games, ranging from bingo to something resembling Maryland's instant lottery.

Gamblers sipping beer at the East Baltimore bar have plenty of options. There's a Keno monitor in one corner. A vending machine offers scratch-off lottery tickets in another. Screens show horses running in another. And against one wall stands a bank of four video poker machines. The first three types of games present legal opportunities to win or lose cash. But the row of video poker machines are supposed to be for amusement only: If you win, you aren't supposed to get money back. But seasoned gamblers and even industry representatives say many bars like this one pay out cash to the winners, though such transactions are made in backrooms, or sometimes even bathrooms.

For years, Baltimore has been shortchanged tens of millions of dollars in amusement tax revenue from unlicensed video poker machines in bars and other businesses and the alleged illegal gambling that occurs. City Councilman Robert W. Curran has come up with an inventive plan to beat the businesses at their own larcenous game. He wants to exclude the machines from the state's 10 percent amusement tax and instead charge a $3,000 fee per machine. Now there's a jackpot. Mr. Curran is expected to introduce a bill into the City Council tomorrow that proposes the new fee structure, which he says could generate $5 million or more in revenue for the city each year.

Comptroller Peter Franchot announced yesterday a broad crackdown on video poker machines at Maryland bars, saying the tax collector's office would use its authority to enforce alcohol laws to pressure liquor-license holders to get rid of the "for-amusement-only" devices that he says are mostly operated as illegal slot machines. Last week, Franchot, a Montgomery County Democrat and ardent gambling opponent, sent a letter to the state's 7,200 liquor licensees informing them that his interpretation of Maryland case law means that even putatively amusement-only consoles, such as video poker games, may be considered "slot machines" and therefore subject to criminal prosecution or revocation of liquor licenses.

If you want to gamble in Maryland, you don't have to look far. There are thousands of electronic bingo and video poker machines in bars, restaurants, convenience stores and other locations across the state. The video poker machines take your money and, if you have a winning hand, the bartender or storeowner gives you credit or pays you off. The newer bingo machines look like real slot machines, pay off winners directly and have been declared legal by the state's highest court. But both devices should be outlawed because they are nearly impossible to regulate, cost the state millions in uncollected tax revenues and basically serve as de facto slot machines, which are illegal.

Add another name to Baltimore's long list of offbeat bars. The Jazzy Blues Club, a new corner nightspot in Upper Fells Point, is hard to pin down. The place is actually more pub than club -- there's not much room for lounging, but it does have a long bar, video poker machines and a large TV. The overhead sign hanging out front has the club's name and a picture of a saxophone churning out notes, which is kind of misleading, considering the bar has no...

Maryland's debate over whether to allow slot machines is purely academic. Truth is, slots are already here. Thousands of them are hiding in plain sight in bars and other businesses in Baltimore City and County. This gambling machine industry has been thriving for decades, producing many millions in largely untaxed dollars for their operators. The machines, also known as video poker machines, are slot machines without slots. The Baltimore City and Baltimore County governments even license them on the pretense that they are amusement devices.

Police raided yesterday a Northeast Baltimore bar under investigation of suspicions of illegal gambling and seized 24 guns, nearly $2,100 in cash and a small amount of marijuana and cocaine. The vice unit raided Sheldon's in the 4300 block of Belair Road about 2:30 p.m. and arrested the owner and a bartender. Police officers found drugs on the bartender, Robin White, 30, of the 4200 block of Nicholas Ave., said Sgt. Sean Kapfhammer. The cache of rifles, shotguns and handguns was found on the second floor, where the owner, Nancy Honeycutt, 31, lives.

WHEN YOU DON'T enforce the law, guess what usually happens? Violations proliferate, especially if those violations can mean big financial gains. Look at Allegany County, where the state's attorney decided four years ago to ignore Maryland's gambling laws. Now he seems shocked that tip jars (in which "tips" -- similar to instant lottery rub-offs -- are pulled by players from a jar) and electronic gambling machines are the favorite pastime in local taverns. They also have popped up at gas stations, liquor stores and neighborhood groceries.

If slots are so bad, what about lotteries and other gambling?I agree with The Sun's editorial regarding South Carolina's ubiquitous video poker machines ("Silencing South Carolina slots," Oct. 17). However, I fail to see the difference between the seduction of video poker machines and a state-sponsored daily lottery.How is a vending machine selling "Scratch-Offs" in a grocery store any safer for players than a poker machine in a laundromat?In fact, the video poker machines don't have slick TV commercials seducing folks with dreams of riches.

The former chief inspector of the Baltimore City Liquor Board was getting cash payments for servicing video poker machines owned by William J. Madonna, a former state delegate and Waverly bar owner, a jury was told yesterday.Donald Harlow, a former city liquor inspector, testified in city Circuit Court that he witnessed Anthony J. Cianferano stuffing cash in his pockets -- money that was paid to Cianferano in return for the work he did for Madonna.Harlow, who was hired by Madonna after serving a six-year jail term for assault with intent to murder, was one of two key witnesses to testify in the bribery and conspiracy trial of Madonna and Cianferano.