GLENDALE : Restaurant Manager Cited Over Game
Authorities have cited the manager of a popular Mexican restaurant for leasing an arcade game that allegedly violates state gambling law, police said Friday.
The portable machine, which features five games including poker and black jack, had been installed in Chuy’s Restaurant & Bar, said police spokesman Chahe Keuroghelian.
Officers arrested Chuy’s Manager Theodore W. Hatch, 31, on Thursday after they came to eat at the restaurant and noticed the game.
Police determined the machine was illegal when one officer played the blackjack option and discovered that it awarded credits for each hand won and allowed free play as long as points were accumulated.
Because the machine gives credits and does not require any skill, police said, Hatch was arrested and cited with a misdemeanor violation of state law for operating and maintaining a gambling device.
Hatch told police he was leasing the game and was unaware it was illegal.
Keuroghelian distinguished the game from other arcade games such as Pac Man because legal games allow the player to improve skills with repeated play.
Hatch is scheduled to appear in Glendale Municipal Court for arraignment on Aug. 9.
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