TALLADEGA COUNTY —Sheriff’s deputies fanned out across the county starting Wednesday and put convenience store owners on notice to remove all gambling machines within a week, according to Chief Deputy Jimmy Kilgore.“We were directed by the District Attorneys Office to go look for the machines and tell the owners they have seven days to get rid of them,” Kilgore said. “We’ve made probably six or seven contacts so far.”
According to District Attorney Steve Giddens, gambling devices have begun to make a comeback in Talladega County recently, in spite of the fact the law regarding such devices has not changed.
The most common new devices are “quarter pushers,” which contain a large pile of quarters and other small prizes that are pushed closer and closer to a ledge inside the machine by a small arm or arms. The player puts a quarter into the machine and the arm moves for a set period of time. The player wins anything that drops over the ledge.
“I’ve had several people say to me that these machines are not gambling devices under state law, but they are,” Giddens said. “In fact, in 1992 or 1993 (former Circuit Judge) Jerry Fielding ruled that one of those things was a gambling device and ordered it destroyed. So we’ve got precedent in Talladega County going back 13 or 14 years.”
After the seven-day grace period, the machines must be removed completely, Giddens said.
“Just unplugging it is not enough. They need to be gone,” he said. “If any of the store owners don’t understand what the deputies are telling them and continue to run these machines, they will be seized and the store owners will be charged with possession of a gambling device.”
In addition to the quarter pushers, agents will also be looking for any other obvious gambling equipment or paraphernalia at local shops.
Giddens said last week that he had been approached by several people about the devices, saying that businesses in Jefferson and Calhoun counties have installed them recently.
“If you want to operate these things, then go to Jefferson or Calhoun County. These things are illegal until the Legislature or the state Supreme Court says differently.”
Possession of gambling devices is a class A misdemeanor in Alabama, punishable upon conviction by up to 12 months in the county jail.
