Video Lottery: Eyeing The Proverbial Goose

The unexpected ultimatum leveled by video lottery leasing companies against parlors that host the machines underscores the new threat to the industry posed by last month's federal court ruling.

The Associated Press explores the potential impact of this ruling, while also talking to the club owner who helped win it.

"I don't believe that most of our people are going to advertise," Jesse Bane told AP. "I think they're going to be very cautious about how they advertise."

Several others have also weighed the ruling's role in the ongoing gambling debate, including:

* Public Broadcasting (on the Outlook television program as well as in this audio segment),

* The Charleston Gazette,

* MetroNews (with a separate commentary by Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval),

* The Charleston Daily Mail offers a detailed overview of this component of the state lottery system.

The Gazette and Public Broadcasting reported earlier on the paltry results of the first public hearing convened by Kanawha County officials so residents could sound off on video lottery parlors. Only a couple dozen showed up, not all opposed the parlors and not all even wanted to talk about that issue (Public Broadcasting also has audio and transcript).