David Zatta, a village businessman in Ohio has proposed a Wintersville casino that will be housing video lottery. Zatta received two legal opinions from the village solicitor and the chief of police when he met up with them Thursday.
"Any new business in the area is great," said David Zatta, who proposed the casino. "I'm planning to pay a really great wage."
Zatta explained that he is planning to open a casino that will house 30 video lottery machines in the lower level of the Goodwill building on Main Street. He added that the casino would be employing approximately 12 people.
Zatta defended video lottery games saying that it is a game of skill and not merely chance. He said that players would be exchanging points for goods and not money.
Police Chief Edward P. Laman did not believe the machines to be illegal unlike slot machines. "It's not like you pull a lever or anything," said Laman.
"The research I had done was it wasn't considered gambling and it had been okayed by a court of appeals because it was a game of skill," Laman added.
On the other hand, it's Solicitor Chris Becker's legal opinion that it is illegal. He said there was a decision in the 11th District Court of Appeals that the machines were legal, but was quick to point out that Wintersville is in the 7th District Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court has not gone over the lower court's decision.
"It's not a game of skill, it's a game of chance," said Becker. "People will bet so much and get 10 cents on the dollar in prizes. It's plain and simple illegal."
Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla thinks Zatta had been doing the right thing in informing council of his plans. Since he did not need council's approval to establish a business, the issue would likely be controversial.