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Bibb DA seeks to destroy video gambling machines

Bibb County District Attorney Howard Simms filed a motion Wednesday to destroy the 620 video-gambling machines seized earlier this month in a downtown warehouse.

The motion alleges saving the machines as evidence would be unwieldy, and prosecutors instead plan to photograph and videotape the machines as they sit in storage.

Under state law, the owners of gambling machines were given a March 1 deadline to move the devices out of Georgia. A law making video gambling illegal took effect Jan. 1.

About a week after the machine ban went into effect, Macon police received a tip that a Third Street warehouse was filled with the illegal games. The police raided the warehouse, moving the machines reportedly owned by Collins Games of Georgia into city-owned storage.

If the district attorney's motion is approved by the courts, the sheriff will have 10 days to destroy the machines in Simms' presence and then forward a certificate to the state revenue commissioner with the serial numbers of each destroyed machine.

A hearing date has not been set on the motion.

Les Schneider, who represents Collins Games of Georgia, had not seen the motion Thursday and could not comment. He has said the new law banning the games does not prevent their storage.

Simms said a decision on what, if any, criminal charges might be warranted will not come until he deals with the physical machines. At that point, Simms said he plans to talk with Danny Craig, the district attorney in Augusta, where 4,000 machines were seized.

"Every machine constitutes a misdemeanor," Simms said.