Unregulated gaming machines spreading throughout Columbia
BRANSON MO NEWS: Sarah Leach stares intently at the video screen, repeatedly pressing a button in hopes of a big win.Behind her, customers are filling big fountain drinks, buying cigarettes and snacks.“Put your money in. You win, you win. You don’t, you don’t,” Leach said as she played one of three gaming machines in a gas station convenience store on East Nifong Boulevard. “You never know what you’re gonna win according to what you are playing. This is just chance.”
Leach first noticed the machines in early August and has been playing just to “kill time.”Like a high-roller chasing a hot streak, machines like the one Leach was playing are spreading throughout Missouri. These machines are not regulated by the state, and law enforcement agencies say it isn’t clear who has jurisdiction.The Missourian found at least three stores in Columbia operating the machines, which are black boxes with screens, two slots and a few buttons. Players start the game by putting cash in. Simulated slot machine reels on the screen spin.The machines are similar to the Missouri Lottery’s Pull-Tab dispensers. When players pay in, a simulation shows them a winning combination of symbols. Players push a button and the symbols on the screen shuffle around. If the screen shows the winning combination, the player gets a ticket that can be redeemed for cash.Unlike the state-operated Pull-Tab machines, which are only available in limited locations including casinos and veterans’ halls, the amusement devices are in more accessible places, like convenience stores.These machines are more accessible for people in Columbia because they don’t have to travel half an hour to play the slots in Boonville, Leach said.What’s the legal status?The machines are labeled “No contest/no chance amusement device( …
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