Gaming In or Out? City of Laurie to Decide

Photo byKrzysztof HepneronUnsplash

By Vicki Wood

     Video gaming machines are still in controversy in the town of Laurie. An incident earlier this year at Vinny’s Restaurant and Lounge led to the discussion of city ordinances regulating the adult only casino style slot machines. These machines, however, are posted for entertainment purposes only. Money to be paid out is up the company that owns them, and the host location.  

     In the incident at Vinny’s, a patron was allegedly manipulating the machines with magnets and a cell phone, causing a large payout. The host location is only responsible for payouts up to $500. The owners of the machines are responsible for the rest. 

     All machines in Laurie at restaurants and service stations are currently out of service until the Laurie Board of Aldermen develop codes that govern the use within the city that match any Missouri Gaming Commission regulations. The machines at Vinny’s were removed. The ownership of the machines refuted the payout due to fraud of that patron, and Vinny’s also denied the payout, with security cameras documenting the incident. Laurie Police Chief Mike Nienhuis said the fraud was not reported to the Laurie Police Department until after the occurrence. He would have responded at the time of the incident if the department was alerted while it was happening. Nienhuis interviewed Vaclav Stepanik and the owners of the “no chance” gaming machines with both confirming that they would not payout, but they would not prosecute the fraudulent player either. Stepanik gave no comment when request for information was issued for this article. 

The ordinances will be discussed at the May Laurie Board of Alderman meeting on Tuesday, May 14.