At Least One Odessa Gameroom Owner Welcomes Tighter Regulations
By: Matthew Farrell
Updated: February 26, 2013
ODESSA -- Tighter gaming restrictions are coming to Odessa.
The Odessa City Council did a second and final reading of the ordinance Tuesday night, and passed it into law.
The new ordinance restructures a very vague law restricting the gaming industry in Odessa.
This will help police inspect and keep tabs on these establishments and help ensure they are operating legally.
The owner of Spinners Gameroom says this new ordinance actually makes her feel safer about her business.
Chere Proler operates three gamerooms in West Texas, including Spinners of Odessa.
She has been a gameroom owner for three years now, and welcomes the new regulations on the gaming industry in Odessa.
"As long as the police are on our side and want to help us stay opened, I'm all for it," Proler said.
Proler says Spinners has been robbed at gunpoint twice, and while she wasn't actually on hand for the robberies, it's still a scary and frustrating situation.
"For a gun to be pointed at my employees, upsets me very much. I can't tell you how much it upsets me," Proler continued.
The police will now be able to lend a helping hand in keeping her establishment safe after the Odessa Council unanimously approved a second reading of a new Gameroom Ordinance Tuesday night.
That ordinance restructures what was really a fairly unregulated industry before.
"We've lacked the appropriate regulatory mechanisms to ensure these folks aren't operating with impunity," Odessa Police Chief Timothy Burton said.
The new regulation will allow the police to keep tabs on gaming establishments and inspect them to make sure they are operating legally.
It will also put an end to the crimes that plague these operations.
"Certain establishments have been involved in illegal activity: Illegal gambling and other attendant kinds of crimes such as drug trafficking, and associated robberies because of the quantity of cash that the establishments have on hand," Burton told Big 2.
As for Proler, she doesn't offer cash in return for prizes, and that keeps her on the right side of the law.
She says some of her guests have concerns about a building that police visit often, but she welcomes OPD as a friend.
This new ordinance has passed about a year and a half after several Odessa gamerooms were busted for operating illegally.
Some of those gamerooms were found to be giving cash as prizes.
The Odessa City Council did a second and final reading of the ordinance Tuesday night, and passed it into law.
The new ordinance restructures a very vague law restricting the gaming industry in Odessa.
This will help police inspect and keep tabs on these establishments and help ensure they are operating legally.
The owner of Spinners Gameroom says this new ordinance actually makes her feel safer about her business.
Chere Proler operates three gamerooms in West Texas, including Spinners of Odessa.
She has been a gameroom owner for three years now, and welcomes the new regulations on the gaming industry in Odessa.
"As long as the police are on our side and want to help us stay opened, I'm all for it," Proler said.
Proler says Spinners has been robbed at gunpoint twice, and while she wasn't actually on hand for the robberies, it's still a scary and frustrating situation.
"For a gun to be pointed at my employees, upsets me very much. I can't tell you how much it upsets me," Proler continued.
The police will now be able to lend a helping hand in keeping her establishment safe after the Odessa Council unanimously approved a second reading of a new Gameroom Ordinance Tuesday night.
That ordinance restructures what was really a fairly unregulated industry before.
"We've lacked the appropriate regulatory mechanisms to ensure these folks aren't operating with impunity," Odessa Police Chief Timothy Burton said.
The new regulation will allow the police to keep tabs on gaming establishments and inspect them to make sure they are operating legally.
It will also put an end to the crimes that plague these operations.
"Certain establishments have been involved in illegal activity: Illegal gambling and other attendant kinds of crimes such as drug trafficking, and associated robberies because of the quantity of cash that the establishments have on hand," Burton told Big 2.
As for Proler, she doesn't offer cash in return for prizes, and that keeps her on the right side of the law.
She says some of her guests have concerns about a building that police visit often, but she welcomes OPD as a friend.
This new ordinance has passed about a year and a half after several Odessa gamerooms were busted for operating illegally.
Some of those gamerooms were found to be giving cash as prizes.
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