Police group getting into slots business

Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2005 | 9:27 a.m.

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. -- In a move to get away from telemarketing to raise money, a Clarksburg-based Fraternal Order of Police chapter plans to open a restaurant with slot machines.

The FOP's Mountaineer Lodge 78 has leased a building and plans to open a family-style steakhouse in about a month. Since the FOP is a fraternal organization, state law allows it to operate up to 10 limited video lottery machines. The machines must be in a separate room with limited access.

"Video poker machines are perfectly legal," FOP President Carl Springer said today. "We'll run it strictly by the book."

The group has relied on monthly bingo games and telemarketing campaigns to raise money for charity in the past, Springer said. The 257-member FOP has donated $35,000 from its bingo games over the past three years.

"We're a nonprofit organization and it's really tough to get funds," said Springer, a lieutenant with the Bridgeport Police Department.

"Everybody's been complaining about telemarketing," he said. "It's an inconvenience and we don't like calling people at home."

If the restaurant is successful, the FOP anticipates earning at least $1,000 a month off the games, he said.