Operator of Portsmouth gambling cafe fined $100

PORTSMOUTH

The operator of an illegal computer gambling cafe was fined $100 Wednesday, marking one of the first such convictions in the region.

The case involved games in which players exchanged cash for credits to play video slots at 4582 George Washington Hwy., the strip-mall site of the former Skillz Poker Room, according to a police search warrant.

A limited liability company - not a person - was listed as the defendant in the case. Defense attorney Warren Kozak pointed that out to Circuit Judge Dean W. Sword Jr. at the start of a brief plea hearing.

"You go to jail for them," Sword joked to Kozak, who appeared without anyone from the company, CHPA Enterprises LLC.

Internet gambling cafes spread across Hampton Roads last year, forcing police and prosecutors to navigate a murky area of the law in deciding how to handle them. Operators contended they were running legal sweepstakes games, similar to those at fast-food restaurants.

The General Assembly passed legislation this year to make it clear the Internet sweepstakes operations were illegal, though Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Earle C. Mobley said he believed the law was already sufficient to act against Skillz.

He said the goal was to end the operations, not to put anyone in prison.

An undercover officer visited Skillz in late December and paid $30 for credits, according to a search warrant. He played video slots for about 20 minutes, ended up with $90 in credits and cashed out. He returned a month later and played with another $30.

Around the same time, an undercover officer investigated similar games at another former poker hall, this one at the old Circle Restaurant at 3010 High St. No indictment has been issued in that case, but charges may come against individuals there because there was no corporation involved, Mobley said.

Police had received several complaints for illegal gambling at both sites; neither operation had a business license on file with the city, according to the search warrants.

The Skillz plea agreement involved the forfeiture of more than $11,000 and 20 new computers, Mobley said. The charge, operation of a gambling enterprise, is a felony.

Mobley said his office had warned both locations to end illegal gambling operations last year when he sent cease and desist letters to them and other spots that had been running poker halls.