Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Will Buffalo take a chance on the slot-like Moxie Mania game?

  1. #1
    Member steven's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    West Side!
    Posts
    11,541

    Will Buffalo take a chance on the slot-like Moxie Mania game?

    It’s called Moxie Mania, and if an Atlanta amusement company gets approval in Albany for the electronic game, thousands of the flashy machines could appear in bars, taverns and private clubs throughout New York State.

    Making Buffalo its New York headquarters, officials of Pace-O-Matic showed the machine to city lawyers earlier this month, and made a similar presentation Friday to attorneys of the State Liquor Authority in Albany.
    At stake are millions of dollars. The Ohio attorney general’s office said Pace-O-Matic had 4,000 machines in Ohio, and each brought in an estimated $1,000 a week. That’s $4 million each week before Ohio changed its laws in October to ban the games.

    Pace-O-Matic has hired the Buffalo law firm of Hurwitz & Fine to make its case, and former Erie County Executive Joel A. Giambra, company officials say, is pitching his lobbying firm to represent Pace-O-Matic.

    Giambra said Park Strategies does not discuss its clients, but said he knows Pace-O-Matic president Michael Pace and saw him on his recent visit to Buffalo.

    Giambra also said he does not oppose gambling, even though he filed a lawsuit to stop the Seneca Nation’s Buffalo Creek Casino. He said the casino would have a negative impact on the Buffalo economy.

    Moxie Mania looks like a slot machine. Patrons put money in it like a slot machine. And it makes payouts like a slot machine.

    But don’t call it a slot machine, says company vice president Ron Carrara, who came to Buffalo on March 3 and showed the game to city officials with Pace-O-Matic president and founder Pace.

    “There’s no correlation between the two of them at all,” Carrara said. “A slot machine is total random chance, and a skill game is absolutely what it says. It takes skill.”

    The distinction is important. Games of chance are considered gambling in New York. Games of skill are not.

    New York designates slot machines as Class III gambling, and in this area, the Seneca Nation of Indians has the exclusive right to operate slots. A spokesman for Seneca Gaming declined to comment.

    Video lottery terminals, like those allowed in minicasinos at horse racing tracks, are considered Class II gambling, and again require state authorization.

    Game of skill?
    Pace-O-Matic wants Buffalo and the State Liquor Authority to classify Moxie Mania as a game of skill. Both the city and the state say they have the game under study.

    SLA counsel Thomas J. Donohue, in a “opinion of counsel” issued earlier for authority commissioners, said the state’s penal law defines gambling.


    .......

    http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/311017.html
    People who wonder if the glass is half empty or full miss the point. The glass is refillable.

  2. #2
    Tony Fracasso - Admin
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Buffalo, New York, United States
    Posts
    64,947
    “There’s no correlation between the two of them at all,” Carrara said. “A slot machine is total random chance, and a skill game is absolutely what it says. It takes skill.”

    The distinction is important. Games of chance are considered gambling in New York. Games of skill are not.
    If this is true does this mean someone like me can set this up? THe buffalo casino needs some competition don't you think?

  3. #3
    Member Incognito's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    616
    My favorite part of the News story was Giambra. He was against having a casino built so much so that he initiated a lawsuit. But now his "firm" is lobbying to push this game? And the difference is "skill"? I think its still gambling. Isn't is a "skill" to follow horses and choose which horse will win a race? But we still consider that gambling, don't we?

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Toronto Star Article on Buffalo
    By Mike Miller in forum Positive Points of Western NY
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: March 5th, 2008, 09:15 AM
  2. Buffalo News Agenda What do they get???
    By BFLOCOP in forum Buffalo NY Politics
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: January 14th, 2008, 04:36 PM
  3. Why Saving The Libraries Is Important
    By buffalofamily in forum Morning Breakfast - Breaking News
    Replies: 400
    Last Post: December 21st, 2006, 02:25 PM
  4. Save South Buffalo Libraries
    By Unregistered in forum Erie County Politics
    Replies: 182
    Last Post: March 17th, 2005, 10:20 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •