Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
A stunning turn of events. The Raleigh News & Observer has the big story:
A state court late Thursday struck down North Carolina’s ban on video poker, ruling that it was unlawful to allow the machines on an Indian reservation but prohibit them in the rest of the state.
The order, however, was immediately put on hold until the lawsuit brought by a former video poker operator against North Carolina is heard by the state Court of Appeals, which could take months.
The order raises the possibility of video poker returning to the state, where the industry was tied to political scandal and sheriffs complained that they routinely encountered crime associated with the games.
Howard Manning’s decision could restart a political battle.
The judge’s decision could reopen a political fight that stretched over several years in the legislature, where the industry’s chief defender was Jim Black, then speaker of the House. He went to prison after a federal investigation that began with a probe of video poker.
In his Thursday order, Superior Court Judge Howard Manning of Wake County wrote that federal law covering the regulation of Indian casinos prohibits the state from banning the machines in most of the state while the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians operate them in a casino on their reservation.
The legislature passed the ban in 2006 after the creation of the state lottery and after years of attempts to outlaw video poker, and gave operators a year to phase out the machines. Video poker operators contributed thousands to Black’s campaign, while the state’s sheriffs lobbied the legislature to ban the machines. South Carolina, where video poker parlors used to line the roads across the state line from Charlotte, banned video poker in 2000, and the machines began migrating north.
The games’ operators in North Carolina already had been restricted to approximately 10,000 machines statewide that were limited to paying out $10 in merchandise. Sheriffs complained, though, that they repeatedly made arrests for illegal machines. Buncombe County’s sheriff was sent to prison last year for taking bribes from illegal video poker operators.
