Video Poker Machines

Gov. William Donald Schaefer plans to veto legislation that would permit video poker and slot machines in Harford County if the bills pass the General Assembly.Schaefer is opposed to the legislation, introduced in the state Senate on Feb. 4. He is concerned that poker and slot machines in the county would open the door to gambling and organized crime, said Paul E. Schurick, the governor's press secretary."He feels that their proliferation could potentially lead to problems down the road," Schurick said.

A bill proposed by a Baltimore County councilman just after he lost his council seat last month would effectively soften the penalties for illegal operators of video poker machines.William R. Evans, the former councilman, said he could have proposed the measure before Election Day but didn't want to place other candidates under pressure before the election. Save for another measure allowing Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs as pets, it was the only substantive bill proposed after an election that saw most of the council overturned.

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.

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.

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?

Blair E. Cross, a Veterans of Foreign Wars state leader, urged a Senate committee Wednesday to endorse two bills that would legalize video poker and slot machines in Harford County.Cross, a junior vice commander for the VFW in Maryland, told the Judicial Proceedings Committee at a hearing that the machines are needed for Harford's civic organizations to raise the amount of money they contribute to charity."We're pretty well confined in Harford County," said Cross, of Whiteford. "That's why we need these bills now. . . . What we need is to put more money into the community."

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...

State legislators from Harford County plan, yet again, to propose a bill this year that would allow fraternal organizations to have slot machines in their clubs as a way to raise money. A lot of money. The bill is already being touted with the usual fanfare, wrapped in the red, white and blue of veterans clubs just trying to raise a littlecoin so they can keep their clubs up to par and help local charitiesin need. If this year's rendition of this old song is similar to the failed ones of the past three years, half the money taken in from the machines would have to be used for "the benefit of charity."

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.

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.