Proposed gaming fees could cost you more on your next bet

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It could soon cost you more to place a bet at the blackjack or poker table. The Bureau of Gambling Control has proposed a mandatory collection fee for every hand played. But a local card room operator worries such a fee could put him out of business.

Card rooms like Club One Casino in Downtown Fresno could take a big hit if they have to impose a mandatory collection fee. Casino owners say it would start at 10% per hand, 50 cents for a $5 bet. Gamblers would be in the hole before the cards are even dealt.

Kyle Kirkland said, "It's basically trying to force us to raise our prices."

Club One President Kyle Kirkland asked the Fresno City Council to publicly oppose the proposed regulation.

"I think it's just the wrong time for it," said Kyle Kirkland. "We don't want to raise our prices to the customer. It's going to punish them. We feel like 80% of our business is going to go away. Right now we employ almost 350 people at Club One Casino. 300 of those jobs would be at risk."

The council unanimously voted on a resolution to oppose the fee, explaining how Club One helps fund city services.

Council President Steve Brandau said, "We have a business that's been in Fresno for 20 years generating over a million dollars a year into our general fund. So that our citizens know that's what helps us pay for law enforcement, our fire, our streets, our street lights."

Kirkland several employees and reps from other smaller card rooms will attend a hearing in Sacramento on December 12th to urge the Bureau of Gambling Control not to impose the fee.

Kirkland says tribal casinos and two large Southern California card rooms support the mandatory fee.