Lottery pulls plug on Hot Spot, ending two-year legal battle

Friday, Sept. 23, 2005 | 9:56 a.m.

City leaders fought for two years to close the fraternal order's Hot Spot Lounge and Cafe, using Charleston's zoning ordinance that prohibits new video lottery parlors from opening within 2,000 feet of existing gambling establishments. But the group was able to keep the gambling parlor open through a series of stays granted by Kanawha County Circuit judges. The last stay expired Sept. 16.

Steve Broadwater, a lawyer for the Hot Spot, said without income from the lottery machines, it will be hard to pay bills while waiting for the state Supreme Court to decide whether to hear two pending appeals. He said the Hot Spot could operate as a convenience store or neighborhood bar, because it has a liquor license, but that it needs the video lottery machines to be profitable.

The question of whether the Hot Spot existed before or after the city ordinance went into effect is the subject of one of the pending lawsuits. A second case concerns whether the business violates the city's zoning law.

Mayor Danny Jones called the shutdown a victory for municipal governments fighting to stop the proliferation of gambling spots.

"These casinos are a drain on the economy," Jones said. "No one comes to cities saying they want to come to the Hot Spot or one of these other little casinos."

The Hot Spot was among the 10 highest-grossing video lottery parlors in the state, according to an Associated Press analysis of Lottery Commission records. The place attracted $3.1 million from gamblers during the fiscal year that ended June 30, yielding $393,534 in revenue for the state and $540,488 in profit for its operators. Charleston and Kanawha County received $19,060 as their share of revenue.

The Hot Spot was also part of one of the most profitable video lottery parlor chains in the state, the AP's review found. Clarksburg residents Nancy Stumpo and David Carpenter were listed as the owners of the parlor and 10 other locations statewide, which together drew $17.9 million from gamblers and produced $2.89 million in operating profit.