COLUMBIA, S.C. — Video gambling operators have a message as the countdown approaches toward a statewide ban of their machines: Don't cash out on us yet.
The $2.8 billion industry has until July 1 before it's officially banned, but some operators plan to keep the lights on in their machines until the last hour.
"We still have some hope of something happening," said Rhea McCary of Fast Freddies, which owns 300 machines across the South Carolina. "In the past, it's always happened in the 11th hour."
Time and options are running out, however.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal of the ban that was filed by Joytime Distributors & Amusement Co., a Greenville-based corporation that owns 164 video gambling machines in several counties.
"Video poker is dead in South Carolina," said Sen. John Land, D-Manning, who had led efforts last year for higher payouts for the industry. "It was dead when the Supreme Court ruled. Nothing is going to revive it."
The South Carolina General Assembly last summer passed a law intended to ban video gambling unless voters in a November referendum approved continued payouts from the machines.
Less than a month before the referendum, the state Supreme Court struck it down, ruling that the General Assembly had violated the state constitution by delegating its decisionmaking power. But the state's highest court upheld other parts of the law, effectively ending video gambling as of July 1.
Joytime's appeal said the state Supreme Court "infringed fundamental First Amendment freedoms of the South Carolina electorate by first enjoining the referendum on video gaming and then itself deciding that such gaming should be outlawed."
"We thought it was a substantial issue that at some time the court needs to look at," Joytime lawyer Gaston Fairey said. "We're disappointed that the court chose not to do it."
State Attorney General Charlie Condon said the high court's ruling probably won't be the last word on video gambling. "I just can't imagine this industry not filing another lawsuit," Condon said.
But Fairey said he has no other plans to keep the machines operating.
The state Revenue Department, which regulates the industry, is waiting to see how many operators will renew their licenses when some 20,300 expire May 31, said agency spokesman Danny Brazell.
The law requires the department to refund fees, which cost $1,000 per machine for six months and $4,000 for two years, for the remainder of the licenses after June 30.
"No one has applied for a refund," Brazell said Monday. "Some are waiting for a last minute reprieve."
Economists say a strong economy should help South Carolina absorb the 3,000 estimated jobs that will be lost with the industry. Some video owners said they may take their machines out of state to recoup business.
The financial void also could be filled by Gov. Jim Hodges' push for a state lottery to fund education initiatives. South Carolina voters will decide in November whether to accept the lottery.
Meanwhile, video gambling operators plan to keep their machines beeping and humming as usual until July 1.
But "hold on because it's going to be a bumpy ride for a while," McCary said.
On the Net: For the state court ruling: www.courts.net and click on South Carolina.
The South Carolina Revenue Department: www.dor.state.sc.us
The American Amusement Machine Association: www.coin-op.org