Gambling - Video Poker

By Jerry Price - Sep 1, 2005

A Randleman, North Carolina, video poker vendor has been ordered by a Superior Court judge to terminate his business, turn over all of his machines to the sheriff for destruction, and pay a $500,000 fine for operating his machines illegally.

Video poker is viewed by most North Carolina sheriffs as a vice that is difficult to regulate, prone to cash payouts that are illegal, and a possible breeding ground for other crimes. The determination by the court is seen as a potential guide to action against other video poker vendors. To be legal, poker machines must be registered with the sheriff of the county in which they are operating and pay out no more than $10 per winning hand. The Randleman vendor said that most video poker machines are set to lure potential players with promises of potential winnings ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars per hand.

Taft Wireback, “Settlement Ends Suit Over Poker Business; Owner ‘Bucky’ Jernigan Must Pay a $500,000 Fine and Turn Over 263 Video-Poker Machines to Randolph County,” News and Record, (Greensboro, NC), April 9, 2005

“The highly addictive nature of video poker — quick action, quick payoffs — deserves more attention in Louisiana. Therein lies the greatest opportunity for your neighbor and mine to sample gambling for the first time, get hooked and escape notice.

“That doesn’t happen often at land and riverboat casinos. Gamblers who appear to be developing problems are often monitored and cut off.

“In those Louisiana parishes where voters approved video poker — the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’ — you can’t escape it. The machines are in almost every neighborhood eatery and watering hole, and more truck stops pop up all the time. Across the state there are nearly 15,000 video poker machines at about 3,000 sites.

“‘Gambling problems, like other addictive disorders, increase with opportunity and accessibility,’ said Sue McNabb of the state attorney general’s gaming division this week at the Gaming Control Board meeting. Of those who engage in gambling activities, five percent or more typically develop problems.”

Excerpted from “Video Poker Risky for Players,” The Times (Shreveport, LA), March 18, 2005

Further Learning

Learn more about: Family, Addictions, Gambling