Saturday, March 24, 2007

A House committee heard testimony Wednesday but took no action on a bill to
allow businesses to sell up to three antique, now-illegal gambling devices
in a year without a state license. Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, said
the Senate Business and Labor Committee members collaborated on the bill.
They wrote it after reading about the uproar that arose after state gambling
investigators seized $77,000 worth of old-time gambling equipment from the
Cowboy Cabin, a Whitefish antique store, on Jan. 31. State law now forbids
the possession, even in a private home, of this old-time gambling equipment.
However, the law does allow a licensed dealer to pay a $50 license fee and
to sell three antique slot machines every 12 months. Jackson wants to extend
this law to other antique gambling equipment, which is defined as being more
than 25 years old. That would include the blackjack table, chuck-a-luck or
dice in a hourglass-shaped cage, a roulette table and wheel and two
punchboards that the state seized from the Cowboy Cabin earlier this year.
Under Jackson's proposal, retail businesses could display as many antique
gambling devices as they wish, but sell up to three a year without having a
state license. The state has filed no charges against the owners of Cowboy
Cabin, "Cowboy Ron" and Eila Turner, but still has possession of the
gambling devices, including a dismantled roulette wheel built in the 1880s
and featured in Miss Kitty's Long Branch Saloon on the television western
"Gunsmoke." The Turners showed up wearing buckskin jackets to tell their
story to House Business and Labor Committee. So did their daughter and
son-in-law, Alisha and Clint Walker of Whitefish. "These items are all over
the western United States," Ron Turner said. "No one has ever had any
difficulty with any of them." Turner said he and his wife moved from
California to Montana where their daughter and her husband live. He said
they have drawn support from many Montanans and people from all over the
country in their battle with the state Gambling Control Division of the
Justice Department. "The very freedom that Montana stands for was radically
shaken up on January 31," Eila Turner said.

Said Clint Walker: "This incident has brought shame to the state of
Montana."

Jackson said the bill would allow retail businesses to display as many
antique gambling devices as they wish, but, under the law, they could only
sell three a year, unless they were a licensed manufacturer-distributor.

Gene Huntington, administrator of the state Gambling Control Division, asked
the Legislature to clarify the law and set the direction.

"Do you want these devices regulated or not?" Huntington asked.

He defended the current licensing system, saying someone can sell three
antique slot machines in any 12-month period by paying $50 for a three-year
license with the state.

"It lets us know who's doing this," he said.

In addition, he said, it gives the Gambling Control Division a chance to
educate people in the business about the legal restrictions involved with
gambling devices. For example, moving antique gambling devices across state
lines is illegal, he said, and it's unlawful to possess such items while on
an Indian reservation.

Without mentioning the Turners, Huntington said he is concerned if someone
had 10 to 15 antique gambling devices on display but plans to sell only
three of them.

Ronda Wiggers of the Montana Coin Machine Operators supported the bill with
the Justice Department amendments.

She said the licensing and education would protect average citizens and help
prevent them from violating the law.

Jackson concluded by saying the bill would provide "a little bit of freedom
and not have everyone be licensed."

"I think the dealers are honest," he said, adding he believes them if they
say they are not selling more than three antique gambling devices in a year.