Because of legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly earlier this year, the owners of a popular Chesapeake Beach watering hole were supposed to pull the plug on their instant bingo machines, effective July 1. However, less than 48 hours before the measure took effect, an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge entered a temporary restraining order against the State of Maryland, preventing authorities from shutting down the instant bingo operations at the Crooked I Sports Bar and Grill.
According to a press release from the law firm of Baldwin, Kagan & Gormley LLC, on June 21, CCI Entertainment LLC filed a lawsuit in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court against the state and the government agencies responsible for enforcing the new law regarding the continued operation of the bar’s electronic bingo machines.
“The lawsuit requests that the court declare as unconstitutional that part of the new law that prevents CCI from continuing to operate its electronic bingo machines while all other businesses that do the same type of business are permitted by the new law to continue in business after July 1,” the press release stated.
According to documents on file in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, Gov. Martin O’Malley [D], the Office of the Maryland Secretary of State, the Maryland General Assembly and Calvert County State’s Attorney Laura Martin [R] are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
“CCI operates one of the commercial for-profit bingo businesses in Chesapeake Beach,” the law firm’s press release stated. “There are eight electronic bingo businesses licensed in Calvert County and Anne Arundel County. All eight licensees, including CCI, operate materially similar electronic bingo utilizing video terminals. Senate Bill 864 (“SB 864”) changes the definition of a ‘slot machine’ under Section 12-301 of the Maryland Criminal Code so that as of July 1, 2012, all electronic video bingo machines currently in use in Maryland are now considered illegal slot machines. But other Sections of SB 864 created retroactive grandfather clauses that permit all existing commercial bingo licensees to continue to operate their electronic video bingo machines after July 1, 2012, except CCI.”
Three businesses in Chesapeake Beach have the type of electronic bingo machines that are permissible under the legislation.
Back in April, Crooked I co-owner Ryan Hill told The Bay Net
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