Davis vetoes bill allowing card parlors to offer blackjack

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000 | 9:09 a.m.

Davis said Tuesday it would take a constitutional amendment approved by voters, not simply a change in law, to allow the Nevada-style game.

The bill, by Assemblyman Dick Floyd, D-Harbor City, passed the Legislature in the hectic final days of the 2000 session.

Opponents complained many lawmakers did not know what they were voting for when Floyd called the bill for a final vote in the Assembly. An attempt to reverse the vote failed, however.

The objective of blackjack, which has been banned in California card parlors since 1885, is to get just enough cards to add up to 21. Face cards count as 10 points.

In an effort to skirt the ban, some parlors have been offering similar games in which players try to get cards that add up to 20 or 22.

Supporters say Floyd's bill would let California's 125 card parlors compete with tribal casinos, whose compacts with the state allow them to have blackjack games.