State high court takes up video poker case

ATLANTA - Georgia's Supreme Court justices had games on their minds Monday, hearing arguments from lawyers on what makes a coin-operated video game an illegal gambling machine under state law.

The case stems from a 2003 raid in Cobb County when police seized 13 machines, but the outcome could affect cases across the state, including one in Athens.

In March, Athens-Clarke police raided two Northside convenience stores and confiscated 18 video poker machines and an undisclosed amount of cash. A month later, police arrested the stores' four owners on charges of keeping a gambling establishment.

That's one of dozens of raids across Georgia. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation doesn't keep track of exactly how many arrests have been made each year since Georgia outlawed coin-operated video gambling games, according to spokesman John Bankhead.

The Supreme Court is pondering exactly what puts a machine in violation of the law.

Owning coin-operated machines is legal as long as the value of prizes is limited to $5 for a single play, and owners contend players should be able to amass as much winnings as they can, so long as the value of winnings remains less than $5 for a single play.

Attorney Michael Bowers, representing Ultra Telecom Inc. and Allstar Inc. of Cobb County, told justices Monday that the law permits players to accumulate points on the machines from repeated games, redeeming the total points for prizes as high as $500.

"You can keep replaying for prizes, so long as the number of $5 prizes is not more than $5 per single play," said Bowers, a former attorney general. "That's the key. That's what the statute says."

But Justice Harold Melton didn't read the law the same way.

"I see where a player can pl

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