About one week ago, there was an article in the Sheboygan Press regarding a Sheboygan Falls man arrested for theft from a gambling machine in a Plymouth tavern.

Miller told police he would feed a $20 bill into the machine — receiving $20 in credit — then use a lock pick to open the machine and retrieve his bill, according to a criminal complaint. He then fed the bill through again, received more credit, and repeated the process.

Above is a snippet from the article in case you missed it.  I am unable to read through the comments that were posted on the Press website, but I just wanted to ask a simple question.  Aren’t gambling machines illegal to have in a tavern?  I do understand they are for entertainment purposes only, but this man was “paid out” for the credits he accumulated.

Miller cashed in his credits with a bartender twice on Tuesday, taking $250 one time and $313 the next. Wednesday, he had cashed out once for $235 when police arrived.

Having paid out the patron would be illegal, from what I gathered about these types of machines.  Entertainment purposes only, would mean you are NOT getting any of the money back in any way, shape or form.  So, now we know the man was stealing from the machines, but we also know the machines are placed illegally.  What wasn’t the tavern owner charged with any type of crime then?

I will say that I am not 100% sure of the law as it is stated, other than what I posted.  So, if anyone has any insight, why not leave a comment.  I would like to know why tavern owners can profit from a machine AND pay out patrons, even though it is illegal to do so.

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