jessica hammer and sydney moran
5 days ago
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Police are visiting several video game lounges in Springfield and say it's part of a multi-jurisdictional investigation.
The Springfield Police Department (SPD) did not provide further details about the exact nature of the investigation. This comes just over a month after the city passed an ordinance banning “no chance” gaming machines.
SPD said it would immediately enforce the ordinance, but several gas stations still had machines running several days later. Managers at some of these locations told KOLR 10 Investigates that this rule does not apply to them and they do not intend to follow it.
“We're driving down the street and the lights are so bright,” said Kenneth Boggs. He lives across the street from his gaming lounge in Scenic and Mt. Vernon. “I get distracted while driving.”
Businesses operating these recreational devices have posted signs notifying owners of the prohibition. Some neighbors say no one was stopped.
“Every time I walked by, there were cars in the parking lot,” Randy Falcon said.
Randy Falcon is the cultural coordinator at the Southwest Missouri Indian Center, located on the other side of the Scenic and Mount Vernon intersection.
“We have found several times [people] He sleeps in the back of our building,” Falcon said. “We made a deal like that so we could install a camera system and monitor what was going on.”
When Ozarks First requested more information about Tuesday's operation, SPD referred us to the U.S. Attorney's Office. A spokesperson declined to comment.
Neighbors such as Mr. Boggs and Mr. Falcon want the gaming lounge to be permanently closed because it already causes enough criminal activity.
Additionally, Torch Electronics, a Missouri-based gaming console company, filed a lawsuit against the City of Springfield on February 29th.
The lawsuit claims that Torch's coin-operated machines “allow customers to see game results before they put money into the machine and before they play the game,” and that the device is not covered under that definition. claims. New rules for Springfield.
The city has previously argued that entertainment devices that offer monetary payments as prizes are subject to the new ordinance.
