Judge hears arguments in video poker lawsuit

ROME - A federal judge in Rome Tuesday upheld a state law banning video poker machines, paving the way for the ban to take effect July 1. <br> <br> Video poker operators were seeking to overturn a state law banning the machines. <br> <br> A Ringgold truck stop and six other machine operators from Rome and northwest Georgia had asked U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy to quash the July 1 deadline set by the Georgia Supreme Court to have the machines out of the state. <br> <br> Murphy said that while the loss of business to the machine owners will be substantial, it did not rise to the level of irreparble harm. He also said that the delaying the ban&#39;s efective date ``would thwart the public interest&#39;&#39; as shown by the Georgia General Assembly. <br> <br> Earlier, a lawyer for the operators told the judge it&#39;s unconstitutional the way the state has been seizing machines. He says his clients have been too little time to salvage or get their money out of the machines. <br> <br> Two owners of video poker machines and an accountant for a company that owns the machines testified Tuesday morning. <br> <br> A lawyer for the state attorney general&#39;s office countered that there&#39;s no evidence the state has seized any machies yet. He also said operators can&#39;t expect a return on their investment in machines that always have ``sat precariously on the verge of criminality.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The judge recessed the case to consider whether the video operators should be allowed to call witnesses.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/6/193168