Sunday, November 12, 2006

Three days after the Ohio Investigative Unit issued a moratorium telling
liquor permit holders to remove their Tic Tac Fruit machines from their
premises by Saturday, a Franklin County Judge granted a restraining order
against the Ohio Department of Public Safety that prevents the unit from
seizing the gambling machines until the issue is considered in Franklin
County Common Pleas Court in December. The order was granted Thursday,
according to Scott Pohlman, deputy director of the Ohio Investigative Unit.
The restraining order was sought after by Columbus attorney Kurt O.
Gearhiser, who is representing the Fraternal Order of Eagles of Pomeroy,
Ohio Skill Games, Inc. of Columbus, Jeff Mayle of Columbus, George
Georgekopoulos of Akron and Elite Entertainment, Inc. of Akron, according to
a court document. "After reviewing the Attorney General opinion and
discussing it with our legal advisors we do not agree with the Attorney
General's opinion and Ohio Skill Games is still committed to defending the
machine in court. The Attorney General opinion is only that 'an opinion' and
is not legally binding on any court." "I don't know if that would prevent
local law enforcement from conducting an investigation," Pohlman said.
Dayton police could not be immediately reached for comment. The state unit,
which is under the umbrella of the public safety department, issued the
moratorium after Attorney General Jim Petro issued a formal opinion last
week that said the electronic tic tac toe machines are "schemes of chance"
and therefore prohibited by state law.