,.,-. 

838 

OFFICE Of THE Al-l-ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

kar SW: 

ThLa will bo in refare 

W, 1941, rwusstlng the apini 

followlag~mtteri 

the maohlnea. l z 

I Bh3r. tocm to ‘mtsldero 

ub hooae is 80 wrunged 

hey 6~ desire; the wohines 

an tbst ctmngers wha play the 

Courre ir&bt alecr play tbc abohintta 

the looker room to pay for th*Ir 

ggra4n fem.* 

yhlle the maehinsa cre not deaorlbod, we proceed upon 

the osauai~tion Xhat they do not dltier from thn oommon vm-iety 

0r alot mohlne derlos or the Hyng-arf” variety. 5i’e tsl~ere 

your onininn Is eminsntly oorrect thnt ti2e omration and mo~intrnmoa ol’ auoh mschlnse by en incar-iomted. country club 18 

illegal. 
Ronarnble A. J. %rmub Jr., Page 2 

-JOT are rpeolfIoelly branded am gambling Ucrloer 

ln Artlale 619 of the Penal Code. Artiole 631 maker it unlawful for an7 prrr~n knavingly to no&In In a place where 

they crc exhI~~te& Artlole 634 deol,ares that they are 

agelnrt ~~8110 palioy en4 em e publio auleanos. Itoreover, 

slot meohlns8 hate been held to constltate l lotteries’ such 

aa me prohIbIted by the Constitution and Penal Code of this 

stmte. Berry v. State 39 Tax. Cr. Re 

f)endergart v. State (Ct. Or. AQQ. 1899 7’ 

240, 45 9.X. 571; 

57 S.V. 850: HIghtOwer 

v. Stete, 124 tex. Cr. Rep. 24ij 61 S.Y. (2d) 618. 

‘?he aetra taot that there gambling 6evloes are 

aelntelnd by en u aruoratea sountryg&& dose not ohange 

the result. Artlole 4664 of Vernon’s Anaoteted Civil Statute8 

dealare that, 

ItAny * * . oountry crlub l l + where persons 

rssort for the pwyors of gambling * + * is hsreby deolerSd to be a oommqn nulsenoe. l * ** 

In Opinion go,. WXSM, we advI6ed tho,6eoretery of 

State thda oorvoretloa COI@ not be formed for the purpose 

of afiordlng Its members an’opportunity to play a t l gemea* 

qrohlbIte4 by the Penal Code. 

In Opinion lo. O-1145 we held that the Oorparete 

veil l ffor4eU no pmteotlon to a ooimtry olub operating an 

*open saloon* In violation of the Conrtitutlon and TOXWB 

Liquor Control Aot. 

Thea. rules are preoisely ap+iaable here. It oen 

not b.0 gelnsald the9 OIW penal lava aMat g@&&g and asaJx!lm-. u gambling oecure is uaually of na oonsequence. For example; we iin& the Court In Soott t. State, 

69 Tax. Cr. Rev. 616, 166 9.u. 226, aaylng: 

*To bet at A gmas of dice I8 W&iwful wherever 

the game ocoure.* 

i ’ 

. 

Ve note that your brief’ cites our Oplnlon Ho. 0-2683, 

There wa held thet und,er a arlninal stat&e prahlblting oertaln 

aotr by *any vb r 80n, l a oarporstlon could not be rlned or Im- 

>rlaonsd, oItIng Judge Lynch fnt. 6001 & Publishing Co. v. State, 

84 Tex. Cr. Rm. 45Qi 203 5.V. 526; Overt v. State, 97 Tex. Cr. 

Rep. 202.. 260 9.K 656; end 12 Ten. Jur. 271. Rowever, we there 
.;. .-.. 

840 

; 

1 

i ’ 

w 

Honorable A. J. Bryan, Jr., page 3 

pointed out that InQIrlduals, offlcere and agents of the 

cor?oratIon, adnnected with the illegal aot might be prorecuted. ~%nwot(r, thlr holding wuld In no way restore lcgelIty to nor ~prevent the sun?ressIon of archinsa vhlch are 

sm gambling Bevloea and are exhibited for that nurpore. 

Many romedie exist for their supwension. : 

Under Artlola 637 of the Penal Code the may be 

destroyed by order of oourt. Roberts v. Ooscett v TCA 1938) 

69 9.X. (2d) 507 and Koore v. Alame (TCA 1925) 91 S.W. (26) 

447 bold that no one o~n~oeeeae prooerty rIghta In E slot 

msohlae; and in the latttr case it vas he14 that a sheriff 

hp.8 the right to sieve slot msohlner without 8 warrant, 80 

long aa he aote ur)on nrobable oauee and doea not commit trernasa In gaining entrance to the qremlrar. Rote, houever, 

that the reoeirt onto of Cal'lison I. State (TCA 1940) 146 6.W. 

(2U) 468, requires that they be exhlblted for the purpose of 

gaming. 

State P. Fnretrs Loan and Tru6t Co., 01 Tex. S30, 

17 3.i. 60, State v. Jockey Club, 98 9.%. 642, Alamo Club 

v. State, 147 %5.X. 639, and City of Kink v. Grlfllth Amusement Co. (Sup. 19361 100 9.X. (ea) 695, a8 examples, are all 

case, reoognlclng the duty of the State to Institute forfeiture 

proceedinga agelnst tboee eorpcrGIonr mI,eusing the corvorate 

franchise by vlolatlng the crlninal law. 

Flnally you fire referred to Mtlole 4067 of Vernon’s 

Annotated Civil Statuter, providing: 

.The hebltual use, notual, threatened or aooteselated of any prewises; place or building or qart 

thereof. for any of the follouln;i urea shall be 

enJolned at the suit of tither t!w State or any 

cltlren thereof: 

"(1) For gaming or kcsplng or exhlbltlng 

gamer prohibited by IN..*, 

Tn'State v. Ftabl: and i?owley United (TCA, 1938) 116 

S.W. (Ed) 917 end Robb and Rowley United, Inc. v. State (TCA 

19%) 127 9.W. (2d) 221, the Court held that lotteries we 

a er3eoles of gaming and nulaance~rhlch We Stn,te Is authorized 

to &press by InJunction unfler krtlole 4607 of ths &vised 

Clvll Ststutee, snd our ODinion Ea. 3-2290 Is in accordance 

with thin rule. Carta.lnly, if lotteries are a snecies rf 
Ronorable A. J. Bryan, Jr.. page 4 

m ubioh the State la suthorlaed to rupprera by InJunotIon 

under Artlole 466T.n fortlo~ the State lsay muppresr slot aaohInes, mpa gambling dtvloes. We eo held in Opinion Ho. o-2052. 

To rsiktr, lt la our opinion rnd you are advised 

that riot maahiner are gambling detlcee m ,p4. They may 

not legally be operated and maintained by an Inaorporated country olub. and the State ir autborl?ed to suooram their maintenanaa. 

JDSt Jr 

Very truly your0 

ATTORKEX OlCWUL OP TEXAS 

Aaslstant