Law change would apply to man who had antiques taken

By JIM MANN

The Daily Inter Lake

A Montana Senate committee is taking action to narrow the scope of a law that allowed state agents to confiscate antique gambling equipment from a Whitefish store last month.

The Senate Business and Labor Committee was having the bill drafted Friday (the deadline for committee bills), said Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, the only member on the committee from the Flathead.

"We talked about it as committee," Jackson said. "We've talked about it several times, and we voted unanimously to do this bill."

Jackson said the bill will ensure that antiques and toys cannot be considered gambling equipment and therefore subject to state seizure.

The bill was prompted by the actions of two agents from the Department of Justice Gambling Investigation Division at the Cowboy Cabin antique store on Jan. 31.

The agents entered the business owned by "Cowboy Ron" Turner and confiscated several items: two antique roulette wheels, two early 20th century punchboards and a chuck-a-luck, an hourglass-shaped cage that spins with three dice inside.

The agents also tagged as evidence and left a craps table, a blackjack table and a roulette table. Turner estimated that the antiques have a total value of $77,000.

"Some of these things are over 100 years old," Turner told the Inter Lake. "These are not gambling devices. These are antiques … It's a historical collection. … This never is, was nor will be a gambling establishment."

The administrator of the state gambling division said the state gambling laws have to be applied consistently, and he noted that the law does not differentiate between antique and operational gambling devices.

"I think they overstepped the intent of the law," Jackson said.

The Business and Labor Committee's bill will be retroactive prior to Jan. 31 to ensure that Turner's seized property can be returned, Jackson said.

"We want to make sure [that the statute] deals solely with equipment used for illegal gambling," Jackson said.

The bill needs to pass the full Senate by a Feb. 28 transmittal deadline, "so it will be on a fast track," Jackson said.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com