The Police & Fire Committee met today and briefly discussed the Video Gambling ordinance. At the end of the meeting, they did not arrive at any consensus regarding sending the matter before the full Village Board. Whether this will come up again of future committee agendas is not clear at this time.
Trustee Eckment is concerned about the potential widespread use of the machines beyond the American Legion Post, citing a concern that the machines could even appear in retail establishments such as convenience stores. It is not clear whether any other establishments have indicated their intention to install the machines, if the ordinance were to be repealed.
Trustee Hickey appears to be more sympathetic to the travails of the Legion Post, with the upcoming smoking ban, and the removal of the machines. All three Trustees (Eckman, Hickey, Maher) questioned whether support for repealing the gambling ban extends beyond the 2 or 3 people from the Legion who typically show up for meetings on the issue. The Legion Post delivered signed petitions when this issue was on the agenda previously, but attendance levels from interested parties has lessened over time.
The committee seemed somewhat more sympathetic to the argument that restoring the machines could potentially remove the need for the loud and obnoxious concerts that the Post currently allows. The Post hosts the concerts as a way of making up a portion of the revenue lost when the machines were removed. Members of the Post indicated at the previous committee hearing that the need for the concerts would be considerably lessened if not eliminated entirely, if the Video Gambling ordinance were repealed and the machines were brought back.
By way of full disclosure, I am a member of the American Legion, and a regular at the post. I started going there after the machines were removed, so I cannot give any personal accounts of the impact on traffic levels when the machines were removed.
