Unlicensed machines headed to Texas

Thursday, Nov. 2, 2000 | 9:47 a.m.

A lawyer for the owner of the machines, Raymond A. Gallegos, said Texas officials have given preliminary approval for the machines to be housed in a Lubbock County storage facility.

The board has had custody of the unlicensed machines since April. Gallegos and his company, Gaim-Ko, agreed to give the board custody while he negotiated a lease or sale of the machines out-of-state.

The agreement allows the board to destroy the machines if Gallegos does not find a tribe or a licensed casino to buy them. The machines are worth about $5 million.

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.

The board gave Gallegos 60 days to send the machines to Texas.

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