怀俄明州议员拟进一步限制博彩业 酒吧传统掷骰游戏被禁引业者反弹
怀俄明州的博彩业正迎来投注金额又一个创纪录的年份，州议员们本周开始动手，准备出台新措施进一步收紧对该行业的监管。
据《拉勒米布梅兰报》报道，怀俄明州议会博彩问题特别委员会本周以全票通过，决定发起新的立法草案，加强对博彩业的监管。这是该州今年7月新博彩法生效后的又一轮收紧——新法已把宾果、掷骰子、橄榄球竞猜板等经典酒吧游戏列为非法，主办或参与都可能面临最高6个月监禁或750美元罚款。
新法让不少酒吧老板叫苦。吉列市“办公室酒馆”老板谢丽尔·伯克哈特经营酒吧12年，决定关停店里流行的“shake-a-day”掷骰游戏——顾客花小钱掷骰子，掷出特定组合（比如三条）就能赢走奖金或免费酒水。她说这些游戏“只是给客人们找乐子”，酒吧并不靠此盈利。她认为新法实际上是把生意赶向州政府特许的赌场：她告诉《牛仔州日报》，每家赌场里八十多台机器，一家还送免费食物、卖便宜啤酒，“我开个酒吧怎么跟他们竞争？没人会跑来我这儿花钱吃饭喝酒，人家去赌场吃得便宜甚至免费。”
谢里登市“No Name酒吧”老板泰勒·贝内特也宣布从10月10日起停办shake-a-day。“我44岁了，打我能进酒吧起，shake-a-day就一直在，”他说，“现在我们有了怀俄明彩票，博彩大厅遍地都是，却不让人玩这种小额碰运气的游戏？”
怀俄明州博彩委员会主任尼克·拉拉门迪表示，委员会并没有专门针对shake-a-day执法：“我们办公室没有为shake-a-day发过停业通知，也没有把相关案件送交检察官。”但他承认，从法律上讲，这些游戏确实非法。
委员会的下一步立法动向，将决定怀俄明州博彩业的监管走向：一方要遏制博彩扩张的社会成本，另一方则担心一刀切的禁令正在杀死小镇酒吧的社区文化。
Wyoming Lawmakers Move to Further Restrict Gambling as Bar Owners Decry Ban on Traditional Dice Games
Wyoming's gambling establishments are headed for another record-breaking year in money wagered, and state lawmakers took steps this week to rein the industry in further.
The Wyoming Legislature's Select Committee on Gaming voted unanimously this week to sponsor draft measures tightening regulation of the industry, the Laramie Boomerang reported. It follows a new state gambling law that took effect in July, which made classic bar games — bingo, dice, football boards and other games of chance — illegal to host or play, punishable by up to six months in jail or a $750 fine.
Bar owners are feeling the squeeze. Cheryl Burkhardt, who has owned The Office Saloon in Gillette for 12 years, is shutting down her popular shake-a-day dice game, in which customers pay a small fee to roll dice and can win a cash pot or a free drink by hitting combinations like three of a kind. She said the games are just for the patrons' fun and don't profit the bar. She believes the law drives business exclusively toward state-sanctioned casinos: with eighty-plus machines in each casino, she told the Cowboy State Daily, one giving away free food and cheap beer, she cannot compete — no one's going to come out and pay her for a meal or a drink when they can get it cheap or free at the casino.
Tyler Bennett, owner of the No Name Bar in Sheridan, is also ending shake-a-day on October 10. "I'm 44 and ever since I was allowed in bars, there's been shake-a-days," he said. "Now we've got a Wyoming lottery and gaming halls all over the place, but we're not letting people do a small-stakes game of chance like that?"
Wyoming Gaming Commission Director Nick Larramendy said his office is not targeting shake-a-day games: "Our office has not sent any cease and desist letters for shake-a-day. We have not presented any cases to prosecutors for shake-a-day." Still, he acknowledged the games are illegal under the new law.
The committee's next legislative moves will shape the future of gambling regulation in Wyoming, pitting concerns over the social costs of gambling expansion against fears that blanket bans are killing small-town bar culture.
图片来源：CC BY-SA 3.0（Wikimedia Commons）摄影：Postdlf
