ELSA — Officials here are considering allowing electronic game rooms to set up shop in “the heart of the Delta,” though details about the proposal are slim.
On Tuesday, the Elsa City Council unanimously approved the second of three readings needed for the ordinance to go into effect. The council is expected to take up the third and final reading during its next regular meeting in the first week of September.
“What’s been represented to us is that there is a legal way to do this, and that’s what we’re exploring,” Elsa City Attorney Gustavo “Gus” Acevedo said Friday.
“Elsa is not a wealthy city, so any opportunity for an additional revenue stream — whether through permits, taxes or whatever — we’re gonna explore and that’s kinda where we’re at right now,” he said.
Acevedo said the city was approached by Robert Flores, an attorney with offices in McAllen and Raymondville who bills himself in his website as being experienced in providing representation in matters of gaming and entertainment law.
Acevedo said Flores is affiliated with the Texas Game Room Owner’s Association, an Austin-based nonprofit that helps establish “sustainable state-of-the-art ordinances that have a positive community impact,” according to its website.
And it’s Flores who is leading the charge on exploring the possibility of allowing game rooms in Elsa.
“Mr. Flores and his association, or company, they’re gonna be responsible for all that,” Acevedo said.
However, the city attorney could offer few other details about the proposed ordinance. Flores did not return messages seeking comment for this story.
The Monitor submitted a public information request for a copy of the proposed ordinance, but has yet to receive a response.
Game rooms, more commonly known in the Rio Grande Valley as eight-liners, have been a source of controversy in the past. It’s not uncommon for news headlines to detail law enforcement raids on such establishments that result in illegal gambling arrests and the seizure of the game machines.
Texas law prohibits most forms of gambling; however, there are exceptions for things such as lottery tickets, bingo halls and electronic game rooms.
Such game rooms are legal if the machines are for amusement only, and if rewards for winning are exclusively in the form of “noncash merchandise prizes, toys, or novelties,” the statute reads, in part.
Essentially, so long as the prizes players can win are non-monetary items worth $5 or less, the game room will not run afoul of the law.
Asked if the city is concerned that allowing such establishments to operate in Elsa could attract illegal or illicit activity, Acevedo said, “Of course we’re concerned.”
“Representations have been made to the city that it can be done legally. And if it can, fine. It’s not a finalized, done deal yet,” he said.
The city attorney added that, if the ordinance is approved, only a limited number of game rooms will be allowed to operate within the city.
Each one will have to pay a permit or licensing fee in order to operate, and the city expects to collect sales taxes, as well, just as with any other business, Acevedo said.
But as for more practical details about how the game rooms would work, Acevedo said the city won’t find out more until after the ordinance passes.
“Really, nobody within the district (sic) knows in terms of how it’s gonna get put together, in terms of which businesses and all this kind of stuff, or what,” Acevedo said.
“They’re handling all that. They’re gonna present us with a package, but they needed the ordinance first,” he said, referring to Flores and the Texas Game Room Owner’s Association.
