Thursday, July 13, 2000 | 4:01 a.m.
The board on Wednesday gave Gaim-Ko owner Raymond A. Gallegos until late October to find a buyer for the machines. The extra 90 days comes on top of a 30-day extension the board granted Gallegos on July 1.
He told the board Wednesday he needed more time. He and his attorney, Joe C. Diaz, said an agreement to sell the machines is near.
Gallegos and board members agreed in March that the board would keep watch on the unlicensed machines for 90 days while he found a buyer. Gallegos is paying the storage costs.
The agreement allows the board to destroy the machines if Gallegos does not find a tribe or a licensed casino to buy them before the agreement expires.
Gaim-Ko and Gallegos are not licensed to have slot machines off tribal lands in New Mexico. The machines had been on the Mescalero Apache Tribe's reservation until late March, when the tribe removed them in a dispute with Gallegos.
Diaz said the machines are worth about $5 million.
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