A Safe Bet That’s Not a Sure Thing--Legally : Fun-Only Blackjack Popular but Some Issues Remain

Byran Good had nothing to lose, so instead of sticking on 19, he had the blackjack dealer at a local nightclub hit him again.

Good’s rashness--the extra card put him way over 21--didn’t cost him much. For a nominal fee, Good and five other players had bought enough chips to play several hands of 21 at Fantasia, a Northridge nightclub. The bar is one of about six clubs and restaurants in the San Fernando Valley that offer the game for entertainment only.

“I’m going to Vegas next month and I want to get in practice without losing my shirt,” said Good, a 21-year-old Arleta resident who sells medical supplies for a living.

Each patron pays from $5 to $20, depending on the number of chips received. The object of the game is to hold two or more cards that total 21 or as near to it as possible without going over 21. Players pit their skills against a dealer, usually an attractive woman dressed Las Vegas-style in a short black skirt, white tuxedo shirt and bow tie.

But under California law, chips cannot be redeemed at the end of the game for money, drinks or prizes.

“It kind of takes the thrill out of it, but at the same time makes it a safe bet for someone like me, who is saving up to make a killing in Las Vegas,” Good said.

The blackjack tables, run by an independent contractor based in Los Angeles called Casino Concepts, are a boon to business as well as a chance for patrons to test their skills and socialize, said Valley club and restaurant owners.

“It’s definitely an asset,” said Peter Aguilar, co-owner of Club Hiatus, which rents Sleuth’s Bar and Grill in the Sherman Oaks Galleria on Friday nights. “Our customers like it, and it makes money.”

Most of the clubs receive 40% of Casino Concepts’ gross, minus $55, according to dealers, who make about $35 per shift plus tips and commissions on anything over $100.

But the game is not entirely risk-free for dealers, players or club operators. Fantasia club manager Richard Zellner, several players and a dealer were arrested recently, and the club was closed for an hour, after an undercover investigation found that the way the game was being run technically violated state gambling statutes, said Sgt. Tom Wade, head of the Los Angeles Police Department’s vice squad for the Devonshire division. The table was removed from Fantasia pending a hearing with the city attorney’s office.

At issue is whether Casino Concepts can legally charge players for more chips once they lose their first stake. State laws prohibit playing blackjack for any “representation of value” or reward. A violation of the statute is a misdemeanor punishable by six months in County Jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

The city attorney’s office, in a memo issued last summer to LAPD vice squads, said Casino Concepts would be violating the law if it charged players extra to continue playing when they ran out of chips, said Alice Hand, a deputy city attorney and author of the memo.

Wade said his undercover officers were charged for additional games at Fantasia once they lost their original set of chips.

“It’s my reading of the law, based on the attorney general’s opinion on video blackjack games, that players have the right to extended play,” Hand said. “Otherwise, the player who wins has gained an advantage or representation of value over the loser.”

Wade said clubs’ liquor licenses may be in jeopardy unless they ensure that the games are played strictly according to the law.

Travis Lehman, co-owner of Casino Concepts, would not comment extensively on the arrests or the company’s policies because of the pending meeting between him, Zellner and the city attorney’s office. Charges have been dropped against the players, and the hearing will determine if the city attorney will prosecute Casino Concepts and Fantasia, said David J. Knokey, deputy city attorney.

It is unlikely that the club or company will be prosecuted if they agree to abide by the city’s interpretation of the law, Hand said.

But Lehman said he thought the city’s rule was unreasonable.

“We don’t have problems like this with the county,” Lehman said. Casino Concepts has tables in about 20 clubs and restaurants in the Los Angeles area, he said.

County Interpretation

The county currently interprets the penal code statutes on blackjack differently than the city, said Sgt. Greg Chapin, a county sheriff’s deputy in charge of gaming and gambling.

“We regard these games as a form of entertainment and a teaching format,” Chapin said. “If you took a golf lesson and decided you needed to learn more, you wouldn’t squawk at having to pay for another lesson, would you?”

Promotional posters for Casino Concepts now state that players have the right to keep playing without paying additional fees. But Caprice Carmona, a promoter for a record company who deals part-time, said most customers leave or voluntarily buy more chips when they run out because “the thrill is gone otherwise.”

“It’s almost like these people aren’t happy unless they lose something,” Carmona said. “But I don’t understand all this fuss about cards. They’re just little pieces of paper with numbers on them.”

Dealer’s Commission

Doug Anderson, 29, a patron at the blackjack table at Club Hiatus and a Pasadena musician, said he always buys more chips when he loses his first set because he knows the dealer’s commission is dependent on the evening’s take.

“America is the land of opportunity and you should be able to make a profit,” Anderson said.

But Wade said LAPD officers are concerned about the games because he said gambling traditionally has been a potential hotbed of corruption unless it is regulated. The state should require operators to be licensed, he said.

Guy Moskowitz, owner of Catch 21, a seafood restaurant in Encino that offers entertainment, said he may remove the blackjack table from his club because he is concerned about the legality issue.

“We run a 100% kosher place, and if there are any complications, we’ll throw them out,” Moskowitz said.

But Good said he has missed the table at Fantasia, even though he ended up losing $200 in Las Vegas last month.

“That was mostly on the slot machines though,” Good said. “I did all right in blackjack.”