Gaming machines still operating as citations rise

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – “The convenience stores really don’t have anything at all to do with the operation of those machines,” Attorney Chuck Hatfield says.

Hatfield represents Torch Electronics, the company that has created casino-style gaming machines, which have been under fire from Springfield City Council this year.

However, Hatfield says the machines Torch makes, aren’t the same that filled supposed ‘gaming lounges’ that had been the center of controversy, which had lended a hand in the council’s decision to ban video lottery terminals that give out ‘monetary prizes’.

“These are not the machines that were in the Plaza Shopping Center. Those are what we sometimes think of as pure slot machines. They have what’s called a random number generator. They are gambling devices like what you would see in Las Vegas,” Hatfield said. “We agree that those are illegal under the ordinance and we’re glad that the city has taken action to get rid of those because those are improper and they are illegal. The devices Torch puts in place [are known] as no-chance gaming devices and there have been lots and lots of conversations about them across the state. You can walk up to [a machine and] you can push the prize viewer, then you can tell exactly what the outcome is going to be.”

Springfield Police announced this week, the names of several locations that have been cited for the machines at least once.

One of them is Wicked Superstore on East Kearney.

Assistant Manager Hillary Wegner says it’s not the fact that police cited them that’s the issue, it’s the way they allegedly went about it.

“It’s a little traumatizing. They definitely shut our entire store down for at least an hour. That impacted the employees that were present. They turned away customers at the door to where they couldn’t even come in and purchase anything. So that definitely made a huge impact. It was a highly stressful situation,” Wegner said.

OzarksFirst reached out to Springfield Police about that specific incident and was told SPD cannot comment on any active investigation or pending litigation.

A gas station sent OzarksFirst video of six officers issuing a clerk a ticket.

“They’re not bowing down to the intimidation. There are two sides to this story, and the police don’t have the final word on whether these devices are legal or not,” Hatfield says.

OzarksFirst reached out to Springfield Police about that specific incident and was told SPD cannot comment on any active investigation or pending litigation.

Hatfield says there’s no reason SPD should ticket whoever is simply working that day, but rather send their citations to Torch.

“It’s not up to these individual clerks, and they’re the wrong people to be ticketing. For whatever reason, the police department continues to issue tickets to these people, even though they know well that the individuals they’re writing tickets to, there’s no way they can be in violation of the ordinance because they’re not responsible for the machines,” Hatfield said. “That’s the language in the ordinance. For the person who operates or maintains the machines could be in violation of an ordinance.

Many of the stores OzarksFirst still had their machines on, while some stores had them off for various reasons.

“We think the devices are legal. I mean, it’d be like saying that if somebody alleged the business is illegal, that the business should just shut down, fire the employees, and not make any revenue. I mean, of course, we’re not going to do that,” Hatfield said.

So how do these machines get into local stores?

Who makes the rules?

What’s the partnership look like?

“The relationship is that Torch is the operator and owner of these devices, these machines. Torch asks these stores if they can place them in the convenience store like a landlord. [Store owners] agree to give space. Torch brings them in, Torch’s personnel maintains them, Torch plugs them into the wall so they have electricity,” Hatfield said. “Like if you put a Coke machine in your business, you might get a percentage of the sales out of that machine, even though you don’t operate or maintain it.”

“They handle everything financially, including the payouts,” Wegner said. “We have no part in that.”

Employees at several businesses OzarksFirst visited say they get a share of up to 50% of the revenue.

Hatfield says as the citations stack up, the power to decide what to do with the machines lies with the business owner.

“They don’t have to keep them on. They could they could elect to well, unplug them,” Hatfield said. “I think that the convenience stores or Torch’s customers generally have agreed with Torch that these devices are not illegal under the city’s ordinance and they should not be removed or otherwise ticketed. If a convenience store tells us, you know, ‘we want these machines out of here’, we take them out.”

Wegner works at one of the businesses that still has machines on.

“I don’t believe that it’s technically gambling by chance and you’re able to see whether you’re going to win before even putting the money in or not,” Wegner said. “I feel like that kind of changes the game a little bit, and we’ve been trying to be compliant with everything that we can be, but I definitely think there are different different kinds of games.”

OzarksFirst, after SPD declined an interview, sent SPD several questions about the citation process.

SPD’s response was a copy of the ordinance and, “We are unable to answer further questions as they relate to the active investigations and/or the pending litigation.”

Wegner says they would like to have a good relationship with SPD even as the citations pile up.

“We really want a good relationship with them all the way around. It definitely it has an impact on that. We don’t want a negative impact,” Wegner said.

Hatfield calls the citations ‘accusations’ and is excited to take the issue to court.

“We’re in the very first stage. The police have issued a bunch of tickets. I don’t know whether the prosecutor is going to pursue all of those tickets. I think they should not. We’ve already suggested that the prosecutor should not pursue the tickets. If they decide to do that and they haven’t yet, then we’ll have an opportunity to appear in front of a judge and to talk about whether these tickets are validly issued,” Hatfield said. “The fact that the police have issued tickets, it’s just an accusation, no different than some of the accusations you see on the national news that are being made about various people. Everybody can make an accusation. In America, we’re entitled to our day in court and we look forward to that and we think will prevail.”

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