Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-02-07
Bartender Charged
After Pinba|| Raid
Prince Georges
Undercover Men
Make Arrest

last night staged the first PIN
ball machine raid in the county
since early 1855 and charged q
Silver Hill Md bartender with
maintaining a gambling opera.
ton.
County undercover men
bounced on Strick's Restaurant
IN the 5000 block of Naylor road,
Silver Hill. where six machines
were reported being played. Po-
lice said the bartender, Billy Joe
Frazier, 30, Of the 1890 block
ot Fourteenth place Sc. was
charged after paying police
agents for "a free games won on
a machine.
The arrest capped a To-day
cleanup drive promised by
county authorities after it was
revealed more than 400 pinball
machines in Prince Georges had
Federal gambling tax stamps.
! PayOffs Illegal
I Gambling and pinball payoffs
are illegal in the county. Never.
the less. the operators and
packers of more than 100 county
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, restau.
'irants, bowling alleys and at
least one gasoline filling station
purchased $3.50 Federal gaming
stamps
After winning the free games
about 1890 pm. the police
plainclothesmen reported that
Frazier gave them 81 and 20
cents credit for two beers. The
machine involved had a Federal
gaming stamp. police said.
I The Federal $3.50 tax stamps
are not required by law to be at
tached to the pinball machines
they are purchased for. Treas
ury agents. however, said the tax
stamp, sometimes covering more
than one machine. must be in the
premises where the machine il
located.
/ The last time pinball payoff
evidence was obtained was re.
ported to be in April, 1855,
when an undercover man
charged waitress at the Knotty
Pine Restaurant, in the 5000
block of Baltimore boulevard,
College Park, with paying off
J on a pinball machine. That
| arrest followed complaints from
! housewives that their husbands
.Iwere losing substantial portions
, of their weekly pay on neighbor.
hood pinball machines.
Card Displayed
Police said the machine on
, which they won games-and
cash-at Strick'S was equipped
with a card which said: For
amusement only-no prizes or
gambling permitted.
The bartender was freed I'm.
lder 5000 bond with a preliminary
hearing set for next Thursday
in Hyattsville Trial Magistrates
Court.
Although police did not de.
termine who owned the machines
involved in last nights investi-
cation, an official of the COR
poration which owns the tavern
said they were placed there by
the Hoke Coin Machine Service
Co.
The coin machine firms resi-
dent agent. according to Mary.
land corporation records. is Mar.
tin E. Hoke of 408 Fifty-seventh
avenue, Capitol Heights. Md.
The firms corporate charter lists
three New York City residents as
. incorporates.
;. Put in by Hope
The restaurant corporation
president. identified by police As
1lleS +. Fletcher, a county resi-
dent, said the pinballs were put
in by the Hoke firm. He also
said that firm took care of OBJ
tanning the Federal gaming
stamps.
Mr.. Fletcher said he was not
IN the restaurant last night but
after learning details of the
arrest was not convinced that a
payoff actually had been made.
Frazier told a reporter he had
refused to pay off the under
cover men three times prior to
the arrest.
Mr.. Hoke asked if the ma
chimes were his, replied: They
could be- He said it would be
I"up to the court" to decide If he
should recover the confiscated
machine.
Mr.. Hoke said he had been in
the coin machine business quite
a while" but didn't care to say"
lhntu n ~ -. "a . IL -