Philip Stegner peels off 100 strip tickets a week for patrons to raise money for the bills and maybe for new bar stools at the Leechburg Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The $1 tickets are popular sellers at the fraternal club, which no longer offers play on video poker machines since the state Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement busted the Market Street landmark for gambling violations in December of 2004.
Next week, Stegner will go to a seminar to learn more about legal types of gambling.
"They're killing the small business," he said. "You can't raise money."
Other clubs and bars might have to adopt Stegner's business model.
The state Gaming Act mandates casino gambling operators provide money -- $5 million a year -- to pay overtime to local police to stop illegal gambling with poker machines and other slots in fraternal clubs and bars.
As of yet, the political chumming of the waters to crackdown on small-time gambling has failed to entice many local communities to bite.
Although Allegheny County law enforcement agencies lead the state in securing grant money -- $811,025 -- most of its municipalities are not participating.
In reaction to an invitation to join Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala's "Gambling and Racketeering Investigative Team" to 130 municipalities this spring, four communities agreed to join: Cheswick, Plum, Carnegie and Mt. Oliver.
Other municipalities such as Harrison Township opted to go with their own program targeting illegal gambling.
Community officials who are not on board say that they are just plain too busy to make a decision or find the proposition too damaging and sensitive.
"If I do away with all the poker machines in Verona, I'll have to raise taxes to make it up," said William "Tony" Futules, borough council president.
Verona takes in more than $20,000 a year in license fees for video poker machines and other entertainment devices such as juke boxes and bowling machines, according to Futules.
The poker machines are not illegal per se; the law is broken only when a bar or a club pays out winnings.
"We make the money on the machines, why would we go after them?" said Futules.
Other communities don't want to see their local bars and clubs take another financial hit.
"This is going to kick everybody in the teeth," said Carl Magnetta, Tarentum council president. "It should be legalized whereby you're not going to put these local clubs, organizations, and taverns out of business."
Although many law enforcement officials are keen to the needs of local establishments, gambling with video poker machines in these venues is breaking the law.
"If they are doing something illegal, we'll make the arrest," said Joe Naviglia, chief of Springdale borough police. With just two full-time officers, the department is not joining the task force, he said.
Yet, as the police enforce the law and district attorneys prosecute offenders, several officers, who asked to remain anonymous, said that they were not thrilled about the task of busting the small bars and clubs.
Changing the law
Illegal video poker gambling nets millions of dollars regionally and keeps many small bars and fraternal associations afloat in financially struggling towns.
"The fraternal clubs and organizations are getting beat up enough," said Anthony Taliani, chairman of East Deer Township commissioners.
"If they have the opportunity to bring in money, they will," he said. "I hope that our board doesn't want to do it. We have enough problems and I'd like to see more emphasis on taking drugs off the street, which is ruining people's lives."
Like some other local leaders, Taliani would like to see slot machines such as video poker made legal.
Some lawmakers have been sympathetic to the small clubs, particularly fraternal unions, but unsuccessful in moving legislation on legalizing the poker machines and other gambling devices in bars.
"These are private clubs, who are otherwise pillars of the community," said state Rep. Frank Dermody of Oakmont. "And we're trying to make them into criminals with the poker machines that have been licensed by local communities who will lose a lot of money."
Recently, Dermody supported legalized gambling devices in clubs in a bill introduced by state Rep. Paul Costa, D-Wilkins. It's gone nowhere so far.
State Rep. John Pallone of New Kensington would like to introduce another bill making small slots gambling legal, but says that a hybrid approach might be the way to go.
"This is a very conservative state and the gaming laws have always been something that has not caught on," Pallone said. "Look at our liquor laws, they are among the most conservative in the country."
Dermody points to West Virginia where small bars and clubs can purchase licenses for small slots machines.
Called "limited video lottery," the West Virginia Lottery regulates close to 9,000 small gambling terminals in clubs and bars throughout the state, according to Nancy Bulla, lottery spokeswoman.
Before the current system, many small bars, clubs and convenience stores offered illegal gambling on small slot machines, which was hard to regulate, Bulla said.
Gambling grants
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is offering grants -- with a maximum of $250,000 per award -- to district attorneys throughout the state and local police to crack down on illegal gambling using video poker and slot machines in bars and clubs.
A total of $3.1 million has been awarded in the last year, according to Richard McGarvey, a spokesman with Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Grants in the region include:
Armstrong County District Attorney: $41,278.
Harrison Township Police: $14,839.
Allegheny County Police Department: $160,568.
Allegheny County Sheriff: $68,050.
Allegheny County District Attorney: $250,000.
Northern Regional Police Department (Pine, Marshall, Bradford Woods and Richland): $43,836.
Upper St. Clair Police: $89,444.
South Fayette Township Police: $69,924.
Penn Hills: $44,972.
Scott Township: $69,932.
Larger text
Smaller text
Print this article
E-mail this article
