Pennsylvania Skill Responds to PLCB Email, Threatens Lawsuit
Almost as quickly as the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board issued an email to licensees concerning the legality of skill games, industry representatives responded back, demanding a retraction or face a lawsuit.
In a Pennsylvania Skill letter as a response to the PLCB email, Lou Miele wrote to operators, “This notice is DEAD Wrong with regard to Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill amusement devices and we will be taking appropriate legal actions against the PLCB to correct the record.”
The full letter reads …
Dear Operators,
As you may be aware, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) released a factually inaccurate email regarding skill games this morning. This notice is DEAD WRONG with regard to Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill amusement devices and we will be taking appropriate legal actions against the PLCB to correct the record. Click here to read a letter our attorney Matt Haverstick, Esq. sent to the PLCB’s legal counsel.
Furthermore, the PLCB confirmed that they WILL NOT be suspending licenses.
Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill amusement devices are legal and have been adjudicated by a Court of Common Pleas in Beaver County. Our legal status will not change unless there is another legal decision or the law is changed. As you are aware, our efforts have been ongoing as we work with state legislators to further regulate our industry and cement Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill’s legal status.
If the Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Lottery or the PLCB harass you or your customers, state that you must remove of your Pace-O-Matic Pennsylvania Skill amusement devices or attempt to confiscate them, please contact the Compliance Team immediately by clicking here or calling 570-244-3123, ext. 5.
Pace-O-Matic and Miele Manufacturing stand behind our product and we stand 100% with you in protecting the Pennsylvania Skill market. We have retained top attorneys and they are on stand-by, ready to defend our devices at a moment’s notice. We would encourage you to share this email with your customers.
For the record, the PLCB’s email is correct with regard to illegal gambling devices in the marketplace that are masquerading as skill games. These devices should be removed. These gambling machines are illegal and they may be putting you or your customer’s liquor license at risk by having them in your establishments.
Thank you,
Lou Miele
Part of the letter sent to the PLCB from Mr. Haverstick of Kleinbard reads, “If you do not immediately correct your libelous assertion as to Pennsylvania Skill games, we will sue PLCB to force the retraction.”
The email from the PLCB and these communications from Pennsylvania Skill comes only days after a hearing held in Harrisburg in front of the Pennsylvania House Gaming Oversight Committee on the issue. To read a story covering testimony from both sides, click here for a PennLive story.