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Louisiana Neighborhood Gambling Limited Under Bill

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- New video poker truck stops could not be located within 500 feet of residentially zoned property under legislation approved by the House on Monday.

Rep. Roy Burrell, D-Shreveport, added the restriction to a Senate-passed bill that also eases, in some circumstances, the fuel-sales requirements for some truck stop casinos.

Truck stops licensed before July 1 of this year would not be affected by Burrell's amendment, which was approved by a vote of 82-17.

The bill by Sen. Joel Chaisson, D-Destrehan, also allows truck stop casino operators to get around monthly fuel sales requirements if unforeseen circumstances, such as the unexpected closing of a highway, cause a drop in fuel sales.

Minimum fuel sale requirements were adopted in the 1990s to stop the proliferation of sham truck stops that began popping up after video poker was legalized for truck stops.

The bill was approved by a vote of 64-36. It goes back to the Senate for concurrence in the House amendments.

Copyright © Las Vegas Sun. Inc. Republished with permission.

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