Sweepstakes rooms catch the eye of law

In five minutes, the value of the Internet card jumped from $5 to $102.

A few presses of the mouse button resulted in jackpots. The numbers kept shuffling and the redeemable credits kept piling up.

"Beginner's luck," the employee said in a playfully scoffing tone as he counted the $20 bills and handed it to the player who won after sitting for only a few rounds.
Treasure Cove Business Center has more than 60 gaming machines inside.

It has a "money grab" booth where people can win a chance every Wednesday to stand inside and snag dollar bills fluttering in the air around them.
There is karaoke and live music during the week. It is open until midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

There are dozens of choices for players who want to win money - card games, racing games, etc. - but all of them are slots that include the chance to walk out with cash in hand.
"I think the most I've ever won is $89," said one woman at another sweepstakes business in Brooksville. "I don't come that often, but I went yesterday because it was raining. Today is another crappy day."

The same player who cashed in at Treasure Cove tried his hand earlier that morning at a slot machine at Sweepstakes at 7340 S. Broad St., which opened last summer.

Seated at a Wild Fruit machine, more winnings came after he played four lines and doubled his bets. It was confusing to discern which fruit designs were the biggest winners. The directions weren't clear.
Anytime cherries appeared on the screen, it usually was followed with bells and flashing signs, which signaled a winning slot.

Five dollars equaled 1,000 credits. The player walked out with $17 and a phone card.
Including his short stint at Treasure Cove, his net winnings for the day were $109. He played for less than 30 minutes.

Across the street from Treasure Cove is Win-City Sweepstakes. The businesses are located at 5117 and 5128 Commercial Way, respectively.

Win-City contains roughly the same number of slot machines as its competitive neighbor. The owners offer free sodas to players, many of whom are regular gamblers.

Smoking isn't allowed inside, but mostly everything else fits the stereotype of a gambling parlor.
The signage outside is vague. The windows are tinted so passersby can't see inside. The lighting is dim. The customers mostly are seniors.

The owner of Win-City declined interviews and wouldn't let a reporter talk to players.
"We're the only business around here making money," one employee said. "Are you going to trash us?"
When Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, learned on Wednesday there were roughly six sweepstakes businesses operating in Hernando County, he was shocked.

"The bottom line is that he feels it's gambling and it should be illegal," said Greg Giordano, who is the state senator's chief legislative assistant. "The people who run them should be prosecuted. It's an Internet-based system where people can walk out with cash in hand."

Sgt. Donna Black, a spokeswoman with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, wouldn't comment on whether her agency was investigating one or more of the businesses.

Legal loopholes,
elusive convictions

Assistant State Attorney Mark Simpson would like to see the Florida Legislature pass a bill that would give prosecutors like him more direction and ammunition.

Simpson tried, unsuccessfully, to prosecute two Marion County sweepstakes businesses last year. He zeroed in on Cyberzone E Cafes in and around Ocala. Defense attorneys said the businesses were outlets to sell phone cards and other services.

The computer terminals, they argued, were there as marketing tools and were available for those who wanted to enter a sweepstakes or surf the Web.
The judge, Simpson said, called for an acquittal after the state presented its evidence. He didn't think there was enough to continue the trial.

"They call it a sweepstakes; we call it gambling," Simpson said of gaming business owners. "They call it a fee entry, and we call it placing a bet."

There are three requirements to prosecute an illegal gambling business, Simpson said.
The state attorney's office must prove it uses games of chance, gives cash prizes and collects entrance fees to play the games.

The first two requirements are easy to prove, but the businesses have figured out a way to make it hard for prosecutors to pin them down on the third.
They sell phone or Internet cards that have, in their words, "legitimate value," Simpson said.
At the sweepstakes business in Brooksville, employees sell a Fantasy Fone Card. Printed on the front is a toll-free number and instructions on how to use it.

The cards themselves can be scanned on machines next to each of the 59 computer terminals inside. Thousands of credits can be purchased on the card and used for the sweepstakes games, which are displayed on the interactive computer terminals.

A player can win points on the machines and has a chance to walk out with cash. The winnings can range from $1 to $1,000. If a player does not spend all of the credits on the phone card, it can be used outside the gaming room for long-distance calls.

That is one typical loophole such businesses cling to in order to avoid prosecution, Simpson said.
Treasure Cove in Spring Hill uses Internet cards, another common ruse, he said.
Simpson has pending cases in Sumter County, which are scheduled to go to trial by the end of the month.

He would not talk specifically about any local investigations, but he confirmed his office was aware of at least six sweepstakes businesses located throughout Hernando County.

In an opinion published in November 2007, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum stated any determination of whether a gaming room violates state law "must be made by local enforcement based on the particular facts of each case."

That is one reason why Simpson would like to see a bill passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Crist. He thinks local law enforcement needs more specific guidelines.
"It would be best if it could be handled at the legislative level," he said. "It would give us some direction."

Shut downs and rumors

During the past few years, Affiliates of Allied Veterans of the World has opened several AVA game rooms across the state, including one at 7269 Forest Oaks Blvd.

A newspaper photographer entered the business and was turned away in seconds. An employee said he was not allowed to take photos inside.

News reports showed AVA was shut down in October for a few weeks, but no reason was given.
Simpson said AVA locations in Sumter and Marion counties were raided and shut down, so that might have made the managers of the Spring Hill location nervous.

They may have closed the business for a few weeks as a precaution, he said.
In January, two masked men entered the business and demanded money. No firearms were used in the robbery, but the suspects fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

A sign was posted on the door at AVA that reads "Absolutely No Firearms Allowed on Premises."
The Diamond Dust game room in Brooksville closed in 2005. Owners tried to reopen it a year later, but the deadline came and went. The building remains abandoned. A real estate agent said she heard the owner gave up because of building permit issues, but wasn't completely sure.

In August 2003, 144 machines were seized and destroyed by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. They previously belonged to a Spring Hill business owner, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
He moved to Bradenton and opened a similar business before authorities shut him down again, according to newspaper archives.

Mike Wolf is a spokesman for the Florida Arcade and Bingo Association. He said gaming rooms are illegal and violate criminal codes as soon as they offer games of chance rather than skill.
If the business offered fast food coupons or Walmart gift certificate as prizes, they would be OK. As soon as the potential jackpot includes cash, it becomes an illegal practice, he said.

"Sweepstakes rooms are not part of our association and will never be part of our association," he said.
His group is a trade association for adult arcades or "penny arcades," which offer gift certificates, household items, gift cards and personal accessories as prizes.

He, like Simpson, said sweepstakes rooms target the elderly and are purposely deceiving.
Even though individual operations are small, some can rake in tens of thousands of dollars per day, Simpson said.

Area residents are noticing more and more sweepstakes rooms opening across the county.
"It's not my cup of tea," said Lori Palka, of Spring Hill, who was getting her hair done a few doors down from Win-City. "They seem to be in every little plaza you see. They're all over the place. It's getting ridiculous here."