Published: December 23, 2008 11:43 pm      

Prosecutors seek seizure of cash, items in alleged gambling case

If a person is going to gamble, they probably should find a legal outlet for it.

If they decide to take the illegal path, they probably should not engage in gambling even as a law enforcement officer stands next to them and watches them do it.

And, again while the officer is watching, they shouldn’t accept most of their winnings in cash, which is a big “no no” in Texas.

Because, when all of the above happens, prosecutors can seek to seize those winnings as proceeds from an illegal venture, which is what the Hunt County District Attorney’s Office is wanting to do to the property a Caddo Mills man won while allegedly playing an eight-liner machine earlier this month.

Hunt County District Attorney F. Duncan Thomas filed the seizure notice with the 196th District Court Tuesday. A hearing date on the motion was not immediately scheduled.

According to the motion, Hunt County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Proctor was on duty on the night of Dec. 15 when he stopped to make a purchase at the Valero Station at 5777 U.S. Highway 380 in Caddo Mills. In a sworn statement, Proctor said the cashier at the store told him there was a man on the gambling machine in back who had won $500 twice that day.

The video gambling machines referred to as eight-liners in and of themselves are not illegal. While gambling in Texas is prohibited, with the exception of horse racing and the state lottery, there is also an exception for games which award non-cash prizes to winners, as long as the prize value does not exceed $5, or 10 times the cost of a single play on the device, whichever is less.

Proctor said in his statement that he walked back and found James William Vaughn Jr. still playing on the machine, with $890 credits on the device. Proctor asked Vaughn if he was paid in cash for his winnings and Vaughn allegedly told the officer yes, even though the store was not allowed to do so. Proctor said he watched as Vaughn played until his credits dipped to $800, at which time Vaughn was reported to have printed out a receipt and to have taken it to the cashier.

At first, Vaughn was presented with $300 worth of in-store credits, which he used to purchase two cartons of Marlboro cigarettes and 21 Texas Lottery Scratch-Off tickets. According to the statement, the cashier then came back and handed Vaughn $500 in cash, which is when Proctor said he issued citations to both the store owner and Vaughn for illegal gambling.

Under the Texas Finance Code, prosecutors are seeking to keep possession of the $500 in cash, the cigarettes and the scratch-off cards, claiming they were gained during the commission of a felony.