Video Poker Machines Disguised as Arcade Games in Sevier County

On March 25, 2007, a local diner owner was arrested by police officers when she was accused of allegedly hiding illegal video poker machines in her arcade game cabinets.

The Sevier County Sheriff Department said that the owner could just use a remote control switch to change the screens from the poker game to the video games if officers entered the establishment.

Captain Randy Parton from the Sevier County Sheriff Department said that the machines are like video game machines, but they were modified to be switched into a poker machine instantly by using a remote control. Thus, if someone, especially police officers, came in to check out the diner, the owners could just use the remote control to switch the poker game into a video game. He said that they recovered other poker machines before this incident, but this was the first time they had confiscated something of this size.

The type of the gaming cabinets that were utilized to hide the poker machines was not mentioned. The local diner concerned, the Speedway Diner, and its owner Sharon Tarwater, were charged by the police officers with possession of illegal gambling devices.

April 02, 2007
Michael Orwell