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North Carolina Sheriffs Want Video Poker Machines Banned

"The Senate approved a ban on the machines last week, but sheriffs fear House leaders will kill or gut the bill. That's what they did two years ago, instead adding stricter restrictions on machine registration and payouts that sheriffs are expected to enforce.

"…Sheriffs, district attorneys, police chiefs and Attorney General Roy Cooper all support a ban. They say video poker is an addictive form of gambling that is hard to regulate, since machines are easy to tinker with to allow illegal cash payoffs.

"…Sheriffs, all of whom are up for re-election this year, are worried that politics might derail the video poker ban. All 100 signed a petition calling for a complete removal of video poker.

"But the gaming industry is a big political contributor. Machine owners and their lobbyists donated more than $400,000 to state candidates during the 2000 campaign, according to the campaign-finance watchdog group Democracy South. House Democrats and Republicans are going to need campaign cash come November.

"…In the first nine months of 2001, the most recent figures available, the state's 10,000 registered machines took in $84 million. Sheriffs said that figure represents very little of the actual profits being made off machines.

"Tinkering with a machine to make it pay out cash is easy. Registration numbers can be switched, so police can't get an accurate count on the number of games in North Carolina…"

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