Every few seconds, the woman clicks a button on the video gaming machine. Each push costs her $2.25 but offers chances to win up to $599. She pauses only long enough to see if she hit a jackpot before pushing the button again. She easily gambles $10 to $20 a minute.
The woman and others playing machines around her are not in a casino. They are in Utah, even though the state supposedly bans all gambling. On a lazy Wednesday afternoon, they are playing video bingo at the Riverdale Dinner and Bingo Club in Weber County. Similar bingo halls operate up and down the Wasatch Front.
It may look much like illegal slot machine gambling, but employees say legal loopholes allow it. They say the video bingo is free — so it isn't gambling — but they charge for snacks that come with "credits" to allow playing the electronic bingo. It is possible to pay hundreds of dollars for snacks and soft drinks to wager with the accompanying credits, and to cash out winnings.
Prosecutors and police statewide say they are looking closer at such bingo halls — and at poker clubs and at bars with video poker machines. They vowed at a press conference in April to crack down on any illegal gambling at such places.
Last week West Valley City charged the owner of a bingo hall with illegal gambling and is seeking to revoke his business license. The Utah Highway Patrol also seized video poker machines at three bars in Sanpete County this month and charged three people with offering illegal gambling. Some poker clubs have been pushed out of business recently, too.
Still, some police and prosecutors say Utah's gaming laws are murky, and they hesitate to charge gaming operations.
Here is a look at some of the organized types of wagering in Utah that take advantage of possible legal loopholes — or lack of law enforcement — to operate:
BINGO
How it works
It is a Friday night at the Southgate Social Club in Salt Lake County's Millcreek area. About 100 people sit quietly daubing ink on bingo cards as numbers are called. A hostess (and posted signs) say the bingo is free. But patrons pay $25 for a dinner — tonight that is a sausage on a roll with a side of potatoes — that likely would have cost only $2 or $3 elsewhere.
For that $25, they also receive a packet of bingo cards, with different cards for each scheduled game. Some buy more dinners for more packets and therefore more chances at winning. Some special games at the beginning and end of the night cost extra, a hostess says.
In the fine print of documents people must sign to join the private club is a disclosure that players may request a bingo card for free without buying any food. It helps show the gaming, on at least one card, can be truly free.
Southgate holds 26 total games that Friday night. Most offer jackpots of 100 credits, which can be redeemed for $100. A final "blackout" game offers a jackpot of 500 credits. (Other bingo halls offer some games they say pay more than 2,000 credits.)
The action at Southgate, and several other bingo halls, is not limited to traditional bingo games a few nights a week. Many are open seven days a week — as long as from 11 a.m. to midnight — for electronic video games.
A hostess at Southgate shows how one machine works there. For every 25 cents spent on snacks, a patron receives 25 "credits." The video machines can play up to nine bingo cards at a time, at a cost of 25 credits each (or up to $2.25 worth of credits spent per push). When a button is pushed, 25 numbers appear and are marked automatically on video bingo cards.
Hitting special shapes of bingos can pay up to 599 credits on this machine. The hostess says players may cash out when they please. (Frank Diana, owner of Southgate, did not respond to questions sent to him via e-mail, at his request, about his operation.)
Also, some bingo halls offer peel-paper, instant-winner games. State lotteries sometimes offer similar games. Alex Fernandez, whose wife owns King's Castle bingo hall in Ogden, says they are given with food purchases and are no different from instant-win games "that McDonald's or Burger King give when you buy food there."
Bingo growing
The Deseret Morning News found at least eight commercial bingo businesses operating along the Wasatch Front this year. Last year, it found only three.
The clubs identified are: 49er Social Club, 49 E. 200 South, Clearfield (traditional and video bingo, and instant winner "horoscope" cards); Como, A Senior Organization, 3825 S. Redwood Road, West Valley City (traditional); Fast Action Internet Cafe & Bingo, 3424 S. State, South Salt Lake (video); Jackpot Dinner & Bingo, 3484 S. Main, South Salt Lake (traditional); The King's Castle, 1877 Washington Blvd., Ogden (traditional and instant-win); Riverdale Dinner and Bingo, 4510 S. 900 West, Riverdale (traditional and electronic); Southgate Social Club, 3725 S. 900 East, Millcreek (traditional and video); and Westside Social Club, 4095 W. 5295 South, Kearns (traditional).
West Valley City has revoked the business license of Como, effective July 8 — but its owner may appeal that action.
Besides those clubs, several charitable and other groups offer occasional bingo games, sometimes to raise money. Mike Hodges, president of Bingo West of Arizona, says he has sold bingo supplies in Utah to "churches, Elk lodges, Eagle lodges, AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) clubs as well as the private dinner clubs" for 20 years.
A new Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll by Dan Jones and Associates finds that 4 percent of Utahns say they have gambled at a bingo hall in Utah, including 1 percent who did so in the past year.
Of note, the Utah Constitution bans gambling for any purpose and makes no exception for charitable groups.
Is it legal?
Bingo hall owners say their operations are legal. Some prosecutors agree up to a point, and some strongly disagree.
"I sell dinners. The bingo is free. You can play bingo even if you do not buy a dinner. So it's legal," says Fernandez of King's Castle.
Juan Martinez, owner of Jackpot bingo, says, "Everyone is aware no purchase is necessary. So it is legal."
Owners hinge their arguments on a 1979 decision by the Utah Supreme Court that arose when prosecutors challenged Albertsons food stores for giving customers bingo cards and prizes as a promotion. In a 3-2 decision, the court ruled that as long as Albertsons gave the bingo cards away for free, it wasn't gambling.
So most bingo halls now post signs quoting Utah law — and warn patrons that they sell food and not bingo.
Typical is a document from the Como club, which patrons must sign to join, that says: "We solicit your cooperation in helping us to uphold the law by not asking the organization to sell you bingo cards. We do not charge to play bingo; your support in purchasing dinners, refreshments, drinks, snacks, movie/show tickets and of course your donations are what we utilize to operate and maintain Como."
Halls that offer video bingo machines also similarly sell food or Internet time, which come with credits to play games for "free." But credits tend to match dollar-for-dollar how much is supposedly being spent on snacks. Interestingly, even Fernandez says that goes a step too far, and King's Castle is among halls that do not have electronic machines.
"They are like slot machines," he says. "Do you really think people are spending $500 on popcorn they don't eat? No. They are gambling. There's a difference. They can lose a lot of money fast. . . . Businesses that have those machines make most of their money from them. It makes it hard for the rest of us to compete."
Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom says he believes both traditional and electronic forms of bingo are contrary to the law.
"Is it illegal? Yes it is. The facade of buying $2 worth of food for $25 knowing full well that you are buying a chance to participate in bingo games makes it illegal. Paying something of value to play a game of chance to win something of value is gambling," he says.
But Mike Junk, chief prosecuting attorney for Ogden, is not so sure — at least when it comes to traditional bingo.
"At this point we have allowed that," he says. "They (customers) are presented something of value for their money besides just a bingo card, at least it is some kind of dinner even if it is a bit overpriced. . . . If a court in some other jurisdiction makes a ruling that it is gambling, then we will follow that and enforce it."
West Valley City is the only jurisdiction to prosecute owners of bingo halls in the past year. It seized video gaming devices at Annie's Dinner and Bingo last year, essentially forcing it to close, and misdemeanor gambling charges are still being adjudicated against the owners and the supplier of the video machines. This month, the city also filed misdemeanor charges against Joe Coccimiglio, owner of Como, for allegedly illegal gambling through traditional bingo games, but the bingo games have not stopped there. The city also revoked Como's business license effective July 9, but the club may still appeal.
Greg Skordas, attorney for the owners of Annie's, defends selling dinners at bingo halls for more money than the food may cost elsewhere.
"If you go to a dinner theater, you may pay more for food there than it would cost elsewhere. But there is also an entertainment value," he says. "You can still get a bingo card for free (at bingo halls), so it isn't gambling. It's the same thing McDonald's does. You can ask for a free game piece without buying anything. But if you supersize some fries, you get an extra game piece and an extra chance to win."
Ryan Robinson, chief prosecuting attorney for West Valley City, however, says he is convinced Annie's and Como were offering illegal gambling. "It's clear they were charging far more than what the food was worth, and that people bought it to gamble," he says.
Also, the charges that West Valley City filed against Como's owner this month come largely not for the bingo games that came "free" with food but for the extra charges of $5 to $15 that undercover detectives had to pay for special games at the beginning and end of the evening. One of the undercover detectives won 298 "credits" in one such game, which he redeemed for $300 in cash, court documents say.
Some bingo halls are attempting an interesting end run around criticism that they simply overcharge for food to allow wagering. Some claim that only $2 of the $25-or-so dinner fee they collect is for food and the rest is a free-will donation to the bingo club.
As an information sheet from Southgate says, "Allocation of Dinner Fee, $2. All other funds are donations to the Social Club."
That doesn't impress Yocom. "Whether people are giving money for food or some kind of donation, they are still giving something of value to be able to gamble. It's still illegal," he said.
Also of interest, several Internet sites list bingo hall locations around the country. One — nationwidebingo.com — however, refuses to list sites in Utah. Its site says, "Bingo games are a form of gambling that is illegal in this state." It then offers to list bingo halls just over the Utah border.
Fixed games?
An additional concern for some is that games at bingo clubs are not regulated and might be dishonest.
For example, Fernandez says when he told a salesman for video bingo that he could not afford the machines, the salesman said, "Don't worry. We can set the machines so they won't give out any big payouts for a few weeks. Then with the money you make in those weeks, you can pay for the machines."
He said he was given some documentation showing that machines could be set to allow few or no big jackpots, and said he provided it to local prosecutors. They, in turn, told the Morning News they are looking at that evidence.
"We want to expose problems with those video machines. If it causes us to close, so be it," Fernandez says. "The only way for us to compete (with clubs that have video machines) would be to have those machines, too, and to cheat people to pay for it — but I don't want to do that. In my heart I know they are illegal."
Yocom notes that people playing electronic, and even traditional, bingo in Utah have no real protection that games are honest.
"At least in Nevada, there is a gaming commission that regulates all the video games. There has to be some sort of minimal payout . Here, they are totally unregulated. . . . They are illegal no matter what they pay out, but some of this could border on fraud. If you hold out an opportunity to win, when people don't really have that chance, it is fraud," he said.
Yocom also says investigators through the years have found evidence of cheating at some traditional bingo games.
"When they were doing their big blackout game, or their game for $1,000, they would have someone who was actually working for the house call out bingo — whether they had it or not — before other people were even near it. We've seen that in some undercover investigations in the past," he says.
Why still operating?
With several prosecutors contending bingo halls offer illegal gambling, why are so many halls still operating?
Sgt. Paul Jaroscak, spokesman for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, says police agencies are busy handling many major crimes. So, he said, bingo halls — or any illegal gambling — tend to attract attention only if they meet three criteria: they become conspicuous, they are obviously commercial and they generate complaints.
Most bingo halls do little or no advertising, so they are not too conspicuous. Only one current bingo hall is listed in the Yellow Pages under "Bingo Games." Some are listed on Internet sites that advertise bingo halls. Some appear to rely just on word of mouth.
Many have names that do not include the word "bingo" on signs above their doors.
Salt Lake County Sheriff's Capt. Dave Burdett says he ordered some officers to visit and look into the Westside Social Club after it had put a bingo ad on a fence by the sheriff's Kearns substation, which is not far from the club. He said he had not noticed the operation until he saw that ad.
"They found, at least at that time, that people were basically paying for dinner, like spaghetti, and playing bingo. They were maybe skirting the edges of the law," Burdett said. But no charges were filed at the time, and Burdett said the sheriff's office has never received any complaints about the operation.
Jurisdictions with bingo halls say they rarely have received any complaints, and the few that have come tend to be from rival owners of other bingo halls.
Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Paul Brenneman said, for example, that the last time his agency received a complaint about the Southgate Social Club was two years ago. "We reviewed the issues then and didn't find enough evidence to present a case to the district attorney for a criminal complaint."
He adds that the "gambling law has a lot of gray area." Also investigations can require a lot of time — and, even when successful, yield only a misdemeanor charge.
Still, Yocom, for example, says he would like to prosecute what he feels are clear violations of gambling law. "But we have to depend on the sheriff to bring charges to us," he said.
Yocom acknowledges frustration that the sheriff's office has not done more to bring charges. For example, when told that the Westside Social Club is directly across the street from Kearns Junior High, Yocom said sarcastically, "If they tried to sell beer there (close to a school), they would be shut down. But I guess gambling is OK."
Robinson, the West Valley prosecutor who has charged owners of two bingo halls, says, "I wish other jurisdictions were more aggressive in pursuing them."
POKER
Video games in bars
The Utah Highway Patrol seized video poker machines from three Sanpete County businesses earlier this month: at Casey's Cafe and the Triangle Lounge in Mt. Pleasant, and at the Sno-Cap Lanes in Ephraim. Owners of the businesses were charged with possession of a gambling device, gambling and gambling promotion, all Class B misdemeanors.
"I believe it's an up-and-coming business," UHP Lt. Tony Garcia said after the seizures. "I believe we will encounter more of these throughout the state of Utah."
When agents executed search warrants in Sanpete County, they found a man at one of the machines who had dropped $500 into it, Garcia said. Other patrons said they had lost up to $100. Those losses, and their corresponding angry patrons, are what spawned the investigation, Garcia said.
In February amid rumors that several bars in Utah were operating such machines or hosting poker tournaments, the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control sent a notice warning that alcohol licenses could be revoked or suspended (with fines of up to $25,000) for any businesses found to allow gambling on their premises. That is a stiff penalty that could essentially put offending bars out of business.
"The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act clearly prohibits gambling and use of gambling devices on any licensed premises," the notice warned. "If we receive a law enforcement report of illegal gambling we will hereafter take administrative action."
The notice included copies of an opinion from the state Attorney General's Office that said poker is a game of chance — and therefore a form of gambling — and not a game of skill as some poker clubs contend.
Poker clubs
One can find poker games any night of the week in the Salt Lake Valley. But the promise of a crackdown by law enforcement and prosecutors in April has taken the wind out of a few sails. Diamond Poker Tours of Ogden has apparently packed its bag. Big SLC Poker Club, which had been offering nightly games in Sandy, closed its doors. And some places, like Sandy's Club 90, have been forced to change their rules.
In April, the same week law enforcement officials and prosecutors held a press conference promising to be tough on gambling, Club 90 got a letter from the State Bureau of Investigations, says manager Randy Snyder. If the club didn't bring its poker games into compliance with state law, the letter said, it could lose its liquor license.
So now, instead of charging players for a steak dinner in exchange for "free poker," the club lets people play for free. Winners receive points; if they win enough points they can play in a weekly tournament for cash prizes. The money for the prizes comes from the sale of drinks and food — but, unlike some bingo parlors, Club 90 says it does not overcharge for food as an excuse to get around the law.
"The way we're figuring, it's entertainment," Snyder says about the free poker games. "If we're getting bodies in here, more people will come. People attract people."
Big SLC Poker Club was shut down in April for zoning violations. A letter to its members, posted on the Club's Web site on April 20 by a person identified only as Matt explains that "Sandy city has been trying to get rid of us for months by using small and silly regulations to hurt us financially and recently with the threat of jail time."
"I hope many of you find this as funny as I do," Matt said. "I wonder how many cases of crimes involving drugs, and other truly criminal activities, have had less penalties." He said Big SLC Poker negotiated with city officials to suspend the 90 days jail time recommended by the city prosecutor. The club paid nearly $1,100 in fines, and Matt was put on 12 months probation, during which time he is not allowed to conduct business in Sandy. According to the Web site, Big SLC Poker is looking for a new home, outside Sandy.
A similar poker-only club in Orem is still flourishing, having convinced the city attorney — at least for now — that its rules fall this side of legal. According to Orem city attorney Paul Johnson, the club charges money to play but doesn't offer prizes at that level. Winners get a chance to play for prizes but do not have to pay to get into that part of the tournament.
"Right now they have some good arguments, and I'm not sure I can prove beyond a reasonable doubt it's gambling," says Johnson. Other prosecutors, he knows, "think it's a slam dunk" that The Flop House's rules are illegal, since players do pay, at some point, for the chance to win TVs and DVD players.
On its Web site, The Flop House notes that "Gambling of any type is illegal in Utah. We do not condone any illegal activity. . . . We offer various prizes (no cash value) to the winners." The Web site did not explain why the TVs, DVD players and other prizes have "no cash value."
The new Morning News polls finds that 2 percent of Utahns say they have gambled at Utah poker clubs — and all of them have done so within the past year.
Home games
Home poker games are also still common in Utah — and are even openly advertised on the Internet. But police rarely bother them as long as they are not conspicuous or commercial and do not generate complaints.
"Obviously, no one is going to raid your poker game in your basement on a Saturday night," says Yocom, the Salt Lake County district attorney. "Law enforcement doesn't have the time or the energy to pursue that."
That's a relief to home players like Stuart Lisonbee of Orem, who hosts a weekly game. Sometimes the games at Lisonbee's house are free, with no prize. Sometimes players "buy in" to play, for the chance of winning money.
"From a strictly technical standpoint, I suppose I'm breaking the law every time I play poker in Utah for money. . . . I think that perhaps most poker players in Utah don't feel that they're breaking the law. But overall, I'd say most haven't bothered to give it any thought," he said.
He played his first poker game for money when he was 12, he says, and "none of us there considered the law. We were just some kids enjoying each other's company. I think that's how most Utah poker players feel. They are just some friends getting together to do something that they enjoy."
He tries to be a law-abiding citizen, he says. "But we all break the law at times. Who doesn't speed a little or roll through a stop sign on occasion? I suppose I would say that I feel comfortable breaking this particular law. Mostly because I know that, for now at least, Orem city behaves as if it's not against the law much in the same way they behave as if going 45 mph on State Street is also not against the law, even though technically it is."
Lisonbee, who is LDS and considers himself "a strong member," says he knows many LDS poker players who have quit the game since LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke against gambling at the church's general conference in April.
As for Lisonbee, he says that even when he plays for money he doesn't play because of the money; he plays to win. "I like to compare it to playing church ball."
That Utahns are conflicted over poker was never more evident than last winter, when Utah Valley State College and the Alpine School District teamed up to offer a community education course titled "Texas Hold 'Em: Know When to Hold 'Em/Fold 'Em." After getting their "hands slapped," according to one college employee, the course was canceled.
E-mail: lee@desnews.com; jarvik@desnews.com