Feb. 4, 2003 – Impatient over the Legislature's failure to take up the governor's bill to repeal a new law making video lottery gambling legal, Sen. Raymond "Usie" Richards wrote to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull on Tuesday urging him to call a special Senate session to address the issue.
He accused Turnbull, who has publicly opposed video lottery operations, of causing confusion by his inaction since sending the bill to the Senate three weeks ago.
Richards noted that the governor asked Senate President David Jones — a longtime video lottery supporter — to send the repeal bill to a committee for action by Jan. 31. "Well, your deadline has passed, and as a member of the 25th Legislature, I have not seen or heard of any action taken on your proposal," the freshman senator wrote.
In the letter, Richards also accused Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Andrew Rutnik of having "issued almost 200 licenses to 30 businesses whose permits have become a topic of public contention." He said some of the businesses have long had machines on their premises that let consumers play games of chance for money, making them illegal video lottery terminals.
Rutnik, he said, "has taken no action to either remove or confiscate these illegal machines from throughout the district of St. Thomas-St. John." He said previous administrations enforced the law and urged the governor to fire Rutnik over what he charged is his failure to do so.
"Where did he get his numbers?" Rutnik asked when queried about Richards' charges. He said DLCA licenses adult video games, which include card games, for amusement only. He said St. Thomas Amusements, a company that provides such games to businesses, has the bulk of the licenses, around 70.
Rutnik said DLCA issues a license for every machine. The company must provide the location of the machine and its serial number and post "For Amusement Only" on the face of the machine in bold letters.
"Video lottery terminals are gambling machines, and those are regulated by the V.I. Lottery by legislation," Rutnik said. He said DLCA has no authority over VLT's. "I think the senator is mixing the two together; they are totally separate businesses," he said.
However, he said that his department recently investigated reports that in at least two instances "adult amusement" machines were being misused at establishments, with customers being allowed to gamble on the games.
"When we told the businesses to stop doing it, they did," he said. "We have been very concerned about them being used for gambling."
He said the Casino Control Commission was contacted and is investigating the matter. "We don't have any regulatory authority over gambling or businesses found to allow gambling," he said.
According to Rutnik, DLCA has no license on file for Southland Gaming Co., the mainland firm that has a contract to operate VLT's in the territory. That, he said, should fall under the purview of the V.I. Lottery Commission.
Rutnik termed Richards' desire to see him fired an attempt at discrediting the governor and himself. "I don't appreciate it," he said. "I think the senator should call me and speak to me before he comes out with information that relates to this agency."
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