Wheaton says 'no' again to video poker

The odds are good Wheaton will ban video gambling.

City council members are expected to vote Oct. 5 on a local law prohibiting the video gambling machines that Illinois legalized to help raise money for capital improvements. A first reading of the ordinance happened Monday.

"I don't think (video gambling) is appropriate for our city," Mayor Michael Gresk said. "It's not the kind of entertainment we want in Wheaton."

In July, Gov. Pat Quinn approved a $31 billion capital improvement package that allowed video gambling. But towns have the ability to outlaw the machines in their communities.

Several Wheaton City Council members also supported a local ban.

"(Video gambling) is more of a detriment than an asset to a community," Councilman Tom Mouhelis said. "I have seen what it can do at different veteran organizations. I have seen people get addicted."

Wheaton's proposed law would remove video gambling terminals from any "public place, fraternal establishment or veteran's establishment" within the city's corporate limits. Any business or organization possessing a device could be fined $1,000 to $5,000 a day.

According to the state law, counties and towns that allow video gambling will receive 5 percent of a machine's profit. The state will receive 25 percent, while establishment owners and the terminal operators evenly split the rest.

City Manager Don Rose said 25 establishments in Wheaton could be eligible for the machines. But officials predict that 12 locations would be most likely to install the devices.

It's estimated each establishment that installs video gambling machines could generate up to $11,250 a year for the city. So if 12 establishments installed the machines, Wheaton's share of the revenue would be about $135,000 annually.

Still, Wheaton officials said they don't believe the extra revenue would be worth the possible aggravation.

"The financial reward isn't worth the risk," Gresk said. "The risk is that it would foster other forms of gambling. Why would we even want to expose ourselves to that?"

Poker: Mayor, council members think reward isn't worth the risk