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N EWS BULLETIN ..,. WISCONSIN 'S GAMBLING POSTURE UNCERTAIN .. . Gov. Tommy Thompson called for a special session of the Legislature (commencing April 14) to clarify acceptable gambling activities once and for all. The bill would curb future gambling expansion, narrowly define the term "lottery," and push up dates for negotiating with remaining Indian tribes that do not yet have compacts with the state. The bill is perceived as an about-face for Thompson, who recently proposed a video lottery program (subsequently shot down) with 45 percent of the proceeds for the state. The new anti-gambling bill passed the Senate 25-8; the Assembly sent it to committee. State lawmakers, leery of making any sweeping decisions in an election year, want to have public hearings and come back to the issue in May. One of the major concerns is the impact on Indian gaming. Indian tribes are feeling the sting of gambling competition, anticipating the loss of economic progress achieved through their casino operations. For background, turn to the "News" section. ..,. SIDES STILL NOT TOGETHER IN FLORIDA ... Put the optimism on hold. Despite promises that the Florida Amusement and Vending Association (FAVA) and the Family Arcade Alliance (FAA) would set aside their differences and work toward a common legislative good, things have unraveled again. At the early April FAVA show in Orlando (see page 50 for the complete story), the two sides pledged that they would create a steering committee to fight-as a single entity-the taxation threats posed by the Legislature. But as of April 23, eight days before the start of a legislative special session , no such committee had been officially formed. "There seem to be a few principals from FAA who are on the fence; they can't decide if they want to work with FAVA or go it alone," said FAVA legislative chairman Manley Lawson. "The FAVA board has approved the agreement to form the steering committee, but FAA hasn't done so yet. This is going to be the final special session; it's designed to balance the state budget, which is constitutionally mandated , by May 31. "We believe we have the opportunity to obtain tax relief, but by the same token, there's also the opportunity that the flat tax could resurfaceor worse, that it will come back in combination with the current gross receipts tax (the governor vetoed the flat tax shortly after the FAVA show). All of this could happen unless we exert the energy necessary to influence the special session." What's needed, bottom line, is money, Lawson says. "The sad fact is that if FAVA and FAA had taken the money that we spent separately and used it to push for something that both sides could've lived with, we would 've had relief already. Now things are up in the air," he concluded. Stay tuned. ..,. LOUISIANA GIVES NOD TO TRACKS ... Louisiana's five race tracks will have the first video poker games in operation when a test run begins June 1. The date for statewide start-up is still July 1. The La. State Police, which administers the program, has received license applications from 25 manufacturing companies (18 have passed suitability requirements; games now go to the testing lab), 23 distributing companies, and many game operators and locations. Contrary to local press reports stating that there are "few requirements" for licenses, there are in fact stringent background investigations and financial disclosures needed for every level of participation. News articles that estimate profits from video poker conveniently leave out the mention of hefty game costs up front. ..,. CCMA HOPES TO KILL TAX ... A California legislator's attempt to stick the coin-op amusement industry with a seven percent sales and use tax appears to be losing momentum, according to John Wendt, co-manager of the California Coin Machine Association (CCMA). Senate Bill 1912, proposed by state Sen. Lucy Kill ea of San Diego, would levy the tax on video games and other coin-op equipment and raise, in Killea's estimation, $60 million for education (later amended to go to the state's general fund). But the bill failed to make it out of a necessary committee in early April; the next date for consideration is May 5. If it fails then, the matter should be put to rest-at least forth is session. " I feel good about our chances for defeating S.B. 1912, but a similar bill will probably resurface next year," Wendt said. "Lawmakers believe there's money to be made off of our industry, or, at least, they know they can get a lot of good publicity by targeting us." ..,. KAMA TAKES BULL BY THE HORNS ... The Kansas Automatic Merchandising Association has embarked on a statewide television blitz asking voters to express their feelings on video lottery. Instead of reacting to legislative rhetoric and/or negative press on the issue of gambling, the association decided to become pro-active and take the message directly to the people via television. The 30-second spots aired on all three networks for an enti re week in late April during the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. news programs. The message: "If you 're sick and tired of tax increases ... call your state legislators. Tell them to vote YES for video lottery. If you don't knrw the phone numbers of your legislators, call the Legislative Hotline (1-800-432-3924) and ask. Forty percent of the revenue from video lottery terminals will go to the state. In partnership with Kansas small businesses, ou r state can raise over $100 million a year-without raising your taxes! Those who play are the only ones who'll pay. Call your legislators NOW." At last report, phone lines to the capital building were humm ing . ..,. NSM GETS SECOND NEW ENGLAND DISTRIBUTOR ... NSMAmerica has chosen Mondial to represent its jukebox line in the Boston area, according to NSM-America president Aus Strahan. Mondial recently opened its New England office, giving the company four on the East Coast. "We already have a long-standing NSM distributor in the area: T & M Distributors in Danielson, Conn.," Strahan said. "More than that, they are one of the very best distributors in the nation-not just for NSM, but for a number of other major coin equipment manufaclurers. To have a single good distributor representing a territory is hard to do these days, but having two is all but unheard of." Said T & M's Mike Riquier, "It was a bit upsetting at first to have another NSM distributor appointed in my area, but I understand the relationship between NSM-America and Mondial. They have the NSM line in their other three offices, so it's natural that they'd want it here, too. NSMAmerica handled it in a very professional way, and as it turns out, the competition hasn't hurt us a bit. Sales have never been better for us. We emphasize after-the-sale service and have built our reputation on that." ..,. ASAHI SEIKO SETTLES PATENT CASE ... Asahi Seiko Co. Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer of coin-handling equipment, has settled its dispute with Taiwan's Yiin Wang Industrial Co. Ltd . over Yiin Wang's sale of coin dispensers. Asahi Seiko sued Yiin Wang in a Nevada U.S. District Court, alleging that Yi in Wang coin dispenser models CH-500 and DH-750 were copies of its coin dispensers and therefore infringed its U.S. patents. Asahi Seiko also alleged that Yiin Wang copied pages from the Asahi Seiko product catalog and used them in its catalog, thereby infringing Asahi Seiko's copyright rights and competing unfairly. By an agreement and by order of the court, Yiin Wang may not make, use, sell, distribute, market, or advertise coin dispensers that infri nge Asahi Seiko's patents. Yi in Wang also may not copy Asahi Seiko's catalog or use photographs of its products in the advertising and promotion of Yi in Wang products. Finally, Yi in Wang has destroyed its inventory of products that infringe the patents in suit, including models CH-500 and DH-750 and materials having photographs of Asahi Seiko coin dispensers. ..,. ROMSTAR TO MOVE ... Romstar Inc. plans to relocate its offices from Torrance, Calif., to the Bay area sometime in July. Details on the location and exact date of the move will be announced at a later date . "This move is being made to accomplish Romstar's long-term objectives," commented Romstar vice president Rene Lopez. ..,. NEW SALES OFFICE FOR BROMLEY ... The sales department at Bromley Inc. has moved; the address is 136 Forest Ave., Lake Zurich, IL 60047. The phone and FAX numbers are (708) 438-3834 and (708) 438-5254, respectively. Bromley Inc. remains headquartered in Chicago, and service for its games continues to be handled through Grand Products in Bensenville, Ill. Also, Bromley Inc. has hired Joe Bundra to be its sales manager. PLAY METER MAGAZINE, May 1992, Volume 18, No. 6. Copyright 1992 by Skybird Publishing Company. PLAY METER MAGAZINE (UPS 358-350) is published monthly, except for the two issues in January. Publishing office: 6600 Fleur de Lis, New Orleans, LA 70124. MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans, LA 70184, USA. Phone: 504/488-7003 ; FAX 504/488-7083. Subscription rates: U.S. and Canada-$60. Advertising rates are available upon request. NO PART OF THE MAGAZINE MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION. The editors are not responsible for unsol icited manuscripts. PLAY METER MAGAZINE buys ALL RIGHTS, unless otherwise specified , to accepted manuscripts, cartoons, art work, and photographs. Second-class postage paid at New Orleans, LA 70113 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER Send Form 3579 to Play Meter, P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans, LA 70184. PLAY METER 3 MAY 1992