JACKSON (AP) - Illegal video gambling machines have spread to almost every county in Mississippi, costing the state $35.9 million annually in lost tax revenue, says Gaming Commission Executive Director Larry Gregory.
The revenue estimate is based on an average of 100 video gambling machines in each of Mississippi's 82 counties, but that average is conservative, Gregory said.
“Every few miles in every city, you are going to see these games,” he said.
In Louisiana, where the games are legal, video poker rakes in nearly $380 million in net revenue a year - more than $30,000 per machine - mostly in truck stops and bars.
Video poker is illegal in Mississippi, outside of casinos.
It isn't a high priority for local law enforcement, and gaming officials said they do not have the manpower to police the problem themselves. Even when they do close a video poker hall, the operators of the machines do not stay out of business long.
Because operating a parlor is a misdemeanor offense, confiscating the machines and arresting the owners is a low priority, gaming officials said.
Since Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, J.W. Ledbetter, chief of criminal intelligence for the Gaming Commission, said five investigators have been working full-time on casino enforcement as the state's legalized gambling houses try to reopen. Even before the storm, video poker was too big for his department or police.
In his office, Ledbetter keeps pins on a map showing how widespread the problem has become.
The 30 or so pins represent machines his investigators seized from January 2005 until late August.
“They are in every county, small town and community in the state,” he said.
In an average year, the Gaming Commission seizes and destroys about a thousand of the machines. Ledbetter said he could find many times that amount with more resources and more commitment from law enforcement.
If caught, machine operators lose the machines and the money inside them. State law allows police to confiscate the money. If the business that has them serves alcohol, the State Tax Commission can revoke their license, but Ledbetter said that doesn't always happen.
Ledbetter said video poker is not a victimless crime because the machines pay out only a fraction of what a traditional slot machine would pay.
“It's getting worse,” he said. “The people who play it lose so much money.”
All rights reserved. Copyright 2004 cfhi, inc.
The revenue estimate is based on an average of 100 video gambling machines in each of Mississippi's 82 counties, but that average is conservative, Gregory said.
“Every few miles in every city, you are going to see these games,” he said.
In Louisiana, where the games are legal, video poker rakes in nearly $380 million in net revenue a year - more than $30,000 per machine - mostly in truck stops and bars.
Video poker is illegal in Mississippi, outside of casinos.
It isn't a high priority for local law enforcement, and gaming officials said they do not have the manpower to police the problem themselves. Even when they do close a video poker hall, the operators of the machines do not stay out of business long.
Because operating a parlor is a misdemeanor offense, confiscating the machines and arresting the owners is a low priority, gaming officials said.
Since Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, J.W. Ledbetter, chief of criminal intelligence for the Gaming Commission, said five investigators have been working full-time on casino enforcement as the state's legalized gambling houses try to reopen. Even before the storm, video poker was too big for his department or police.
In his office, Ledbetter keeps pins on a map showing how widespread the problem has become.
The 30 or so pins represent machines his investigators seized from January 2005 until late August.
“They are in every county, small town and community in the state,” he said.
In an average year, the Gaming Commission seizes and destroys about a thousand of the machines. Ledbetter said he could find many times that amount with more resources and more commitment from law enforcement.
If caught, machine operators lose the machines and the money inside them. State law allows police to confiscate the money. If the business that has them serves alcohol, the State Tax Commission can revoke their license, but Ledbetter said that doesn't always happen.
Ledbetter said video poker is not a victimless crime because the machines pay out only a fraction of what a traditional slot machine would pay.
“It's getting worse,” he said. “The people who play it lose so much money.”
All rights reserved. Copyright 2004 cfhi, inc.