Antique gambling devices seized

By RICHARD HANNERS - Whitefish Pilot

Antique store owners Ron and Eila Turner were taken by surprise last week when three state gambling control agents showed up at their business and told them they illegally possessed gambling devices.

After being checked out by Whitefish police officers, the Montana Department of Justice agents hauled away two antique punch boards, two roulette wheels and one "chuck-o-luck" dice cage. Sealed as evidence for later removal were one blackjack table, one craps table and one craps board.

All the items except the punch boards date back to the 19th century, Ron said, and some of the items are on consignment. He estimated the total value of the seized items at $77,000.

"We're terrified," Ron said. "We never intended to break any laws."

Ron said he and his wife have been selling antiques — including genuine historical roulette wheels and gambling tables — for 18 years. He said he's seen gambling devices for sale at antique shows across the country.

"These are gambling collectibles from the Old West — they're not for use," Ron said.

The Turners opened up their Cowboy Cabin antiques store in the former Dire Wolf saloon on Wisconsin Avenue in December.

The couple left San Juan Capistrano, Calif., for the Flathead to be closer to their daughter and son-in-law, and they said they've been warmly received by the Whitefish community.

"People are delighted to see real antiques from the Wild West, not reproductions," Ron said.

Montana state law defines a gambling device as a "mechanical, electromechanical or electronic device, machine, slot machine, instrument, apparatus, contrivance, scheme or system used or intended for use in any gambling activity."

Such devices named by state law include punch cards, a faro box, roulette wheels and tables, craps tables and slot machines. While not specifically naming blackjack tables, the game of blackjack is outlawed as an "illegal gambling enterprise."

Possession of an illegal gambling device is punishable in Montana as a misdemeanor, with penalties increasing for subsequent convictions.

Exceptions are made for licensed companies that recondition, refurbish, test or modify imported gambling devices that are later shipped back out of state.

Illegal gambling devices may be possessed for display purposes in public or private museums or any other public place after the equipment has been made inoperable.

A special exception exists in Montana for the possession and operation of antique slot machines in private residences.

Larry Redman, a supervisor in the Department of Justice's Gambling Investigation Division, told the Pilot no criminal charges had yet been filed.

He said the seizure of equipment at Cowboy Cabin was unusual. More typical was the seizure of "six-in-one games," items which simulate gambling, at mainstream department stores.

Redman said the items taken from Cowboy Cabin "were made for gambling and no other reason." Because they're very old and because some are on consignment and not owned by Ron and Eila Turner, something could be worked out, he said.

"Typically, they would be destroyed by court order, or retained for Justice Department training classes, or placed in the state museum," he said.

He said some of the items will likely be destroyed — including reducing them to "sawdust."

Returning the consignment items to their owners could be difficult because it would be against federal law to ship the items back to California, Redman said.

The 1951 Johnson Act regulates the interstate transportation of gambling devices. The law defines gambling devices in terms of a "machine or mechanical device" with a "drum or reel," such as roulette tables and slot machines.

Amended several times over the years, the Johnson Act outlaws the transportation of such gambling devices to a state where such devices are prohibited by law.

Redman said the Turners should have checked out the laws in Montana before moving their antique business here.