Some Naperville businesses welcome video poker
Steve Mitchell likes the idea of legalizing video gambling, given his prior run-in with the law.
"That's because I was arrested for it years ago," said the owner of Miss Kitty's Saloon in Naperville. "I gave somebody a Miss Kitty's jacket in lieu of credits on a machine, and the next thing you know I got Naperville police and ATF with flak jackets and automatic weapons coming in."
However, that night didn't end all that poorly for him.
"It was a good night for tips because everybody left their money on the bar and took off," he joked.
Mitchell is all for video gambling, but staunchly against state legislators' other plan to increase the cost of liquor to help fill state budget gaps.
"I think video poker will ensure everybody staying in business and they should give that a chance before increasing the price of booze, too," he said.
Naperville City Manager Doug Krieger doesn't believe either initiative will have much impact on the city's bottom line. Even if bar owners increase the price of drinks, it will have little effect on tax revenue to the city. As for video gambling, the current proposal calls for the state to capture 30 percent of a machine's take. Of that, municipalities or counties would receive one-sixth of the state's haul from the device. That translates to local government getting less than $50 for every $1,000 spent on a video gaming machine.
Krieger said the city has had no discussions about what they will do about video gaming, while bar owners similarly reported no organized talk on the topic.
"This is one time where Springfield has moved pretty rapidly," Krieger said.
The current proposal would allow city and county leaders to outlaw video gaming within their jurisdictions.
"It's never occurred to me to think about video poker games," said Jim Bergeron, owner of the popular downtown Naperville nightspot Jimmy's Bar and Grill. "I highly doubt I'd put them in, I'm a restaurant first and foremost. But we've never had a conversation about it."