Video Poker games made sizable payouts

North Carolina video poker game players have won big on illegal machines.

Fayetteville, NC - Illegal video poker machines recently confiscated around Cumberland County paid out prizes as high as $2,090, according to court documents.


A sheriff’s deputy and two Alcohol Law Enforcement agents, working undercover, witnessed more than $7,900 in illegal payouts over the past three years, the documents say. The officers won some of the prizes; they say they saw others win the rest.


The lawmen’s statements are included in a nuisance abatement lawsuit that Cumberland County authorities filed against Michael and Barbara Waguespack on Friday to shut down their company, Funtime Amusements of Hope Mills. Agents raided numerous businesses and homes over the weekend, seizing at least 100 video poker machines and $1 million in cash.


Video arcade machines that play poker or other gambling games are legal in North Carolina provided that no location has more than three machines, and that the machines don’t pay out cash. Players are allowed to win prizes worth as much as $10.


The machines also must be registered with the Sheriff’s Office.


Sheriff Moose Butler and other leaders have said that video poker laws are difficult to enforce and that the machines generally are run illegally. The Sheriff’s Office has received many complaints about illegal gambling and the machines, Butler has said.


Assets frozen

On Friday, Superior Court Judge E. Lynn Johnson issued a court order to freeze the Waguespacks’ assets and stop them from operating video poker machines illegally. A hearing in the case is scheduled for May 8.


The Sheriff’s Office, ALE and the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the Waguespacks’ home on Pentagon Court in Hope Mills on Friday. They also raided businesses and other places with machines owned by Funtime Amusements. In addition to the 100 machines and $1million, lawmen have seized five vehicles and charged at least nine people.


The Waguespacks have not been charged, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Tanna. They could not be reached for comment Monday.


The raids will continue, Tanna said, but she would not provide further details.


In recent years, federal laws have been used to prosecute illegal video poker operators because of the relative weakness of the state’s laws on gaming. Senior Resident Agent Tim Gannon of the FBI said he is not aware of any federal indictments against the Waguespacks. The FBI is assisting the Sheriff’s Office, he said, but he would not elaborate on the agency’s role in the case.


According to the officers’ affidavits:

Michael Waguespack owns Funtime Amusements and Barbara helps him run it.


Their machines accept bills up to $20, and the machines say their jackpots can exceed $500. When someone wins, the machines dispense coupons that can be traded for cash.


At least 150 of their machines are registered; at least 150 are not.


The machines, in and around Cumberland County, each gross at least $300 a week.


The officers said players received illegal payouts in places including It’z Sports Bar & Grill, Cheers Too and Jerry’s Gifts and Things in Fayetteville; the Vander Garden Center in Vander; Draughon’s Supermarket in Stedman; B&B Bingo in Sanford and Kalee’s Cigarette Oasis in Pembroke.


The smallest reported winnings were $10. The largest was $2,090 on Nov. 4, 2003, in the home of Michael Norris of Baywood Road, east of Fayetteville. The Norris residence also was the site of two other wins, for $1,375 and $400, in May 2003 and January 2004, the court documents say.


Norris on Monday said he is hiring a lawyer. He would not comment on the case.

News Added: 02 May, 2006

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