Game rooms making a comeback

Hannigan's Notebook

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Game rooms making a comeback

Jul 23, 2020

(Courtesy Photo: Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse)

Note: This interview with Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse was recorded Wednesday, July 22.

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Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said game rooms are starting to make a comeback in the county.

These game rooms use 8-liner machines, which aren’t specifically illegal.

“The games themselves aren’t illegal, it is the way they are operated,” Hillhouse said. “People paying cash out, that’s what really makes the games illegal in the state of Texas.” (Listen to the discussion above starting at the 9:45 mark.)

Gambling is a misdemeanor offense in Texas.

“The owners of those game rooms, the operators of those game rooms, make large amounts of money so it was worth them taking a chance, it was worth them maybe getting a little misdemeanor on their record,” he said.

Instead, the Sheriff’s Office started filing organized crime cases against game room operators and that worked to shut them down.

“They were closed for almost a year here in Henderson County, which we were blessed,” he said. “Now they’ve slowly but surely started to open back up.”

The problem isn’t only the gambling. These game rooms also attract narcotics and crime, said Hillhouse.

“They’re not safe places to be,” he said. “We are in those game rooms all the time and we’re catching felons out of there, we’re catching wanted fugitives. People are in there selling drugs.”

“It is just not a safe environment for folks to be in,” Hillhouse said, “that’s why we work on them and we continue to work on them.”

Also in the Interview

-- The Sheriff’s Office is still looking for help with a missing persons case. Troy Brandon Cole, 41, was last seen riding his bike on State Highway 19 South. The Sheriff talks about the case starting at the 2:38 mark.

-- Methamphetamine is still the biggest problem facing our county and the Sheriff talks about it starting at the 5:40 mark.

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