Video Poker Machines To Start First Phase Of Ban In N.C.

In North Carolina hundreds of establishments that operate video poker machines will have to give one of them up in compliance to a new law that is being effected in the state.

The poker ban which will begin its first phase on Oct. 1 will bring down the maximum number of video poker machines in any one location from three to one. The number will be further reduced to just one by March 1, leading to a total ban on July 1.

Law enforcement officials view video poker as a nuisance, saying that the game is a cause of gambling addiction and is easily rigged for illegal cash payouts. Moreover, the game in some cases serves as a fuel to other crimes. The ban is deemed as favorable by state sheriffs and Attorney General Roy Cooper.

But some aren't so happy with the ban, and one such man is FedEx truck driver James Thomas of Raleigh.

"I just like playin'," said the 60-year-old Thomas who blew a few dollars on the game Thursday. "It ain't hurtin' nobody."

A few feet away, another elderly man wagered $11 in just one minute while playing the state operated "Education Lottery". Just a short distance from him, another middle-aged woman who places her bets using her retirement savings, bet and lost time and again on the random game of chance.