Opinion ID: 2754130
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The game of bingo contemplates a

Text: group activity in which multiple players compete against each other to be the first to properly mark a card with the predetermined winning pattern and announce that fact. 42 So. 3d at 86. We have since stated that our analysis in Cornerstone is applicable to the other local bingo constitutional amendments in this State. State v. Greenetrack, Inc., [Ms. 1101313, April 1, 2014] __ So. 3d ___ , ___ (Ala. 2014) ([T]he game of 'bingo' as that term is used in local constitutional amendments throughout the State is that game 'commonly or traditionally known as bingo,' 42 So. 3d at 86, and ... this game is characterized by at least the six elements we identified in Cornerstone.). Accordingly, the factors identified in Cornerstone are controlling in determining whether the gaming devices in this case are legal bingo games permitted by Amendment No. 569. There are two general types of gaming devices in this case: the electronic-gaming devices, which make up the majority of the items seized by the State, and three Roubingo tables. With regard to the electronic devices, there were four different types of game systems available for 11 1130388 play at Center Stage: Gateway, Firefox, Imperium, and Megabucks. Each player terminal consisted of a touch-screen monitor. In order to play the electronic games at Center Stage, patrons were first required to visit a cashier and purchase a personal-identification number (PIN). The trial court's order described in detail how the PINs were used to play the electronic-gaming devices: A. When a person wished to become a player he or she obtained a[] PIN code by paying cash or approved funds to an attendant. B. This attendant or cashier entered the amount of cash as a credit associated with that PIN code to the network of computers, servers, and player terminals to each identified machine category. C. Each person playing the game activated a particular player terminal or station by entering his or her PIN code; D. Upon entry of the PIN code, the player terminal or play station machine automatically displayed the amount of credit corresponding to the cash the player provided to the attendant; E. Each individual person decided how much to bet and then engaged in a game of chance on the respective machine; F. If the person playing the game won the game, cash value credits were awarded to the PIN, and those credits could be used to play another game on the respective machine or on another machine in the Center Stage facility; 12 1130388 G. If a person playing the machine had a credit remaining when he or she completed playing all the games he or she wished to play, they returned to the attendant and provided the assigned PIN code. The attendant entered the code attached to the network and thereby determined the amount of credit attached to the PIN. If there was any remaining credit, the cashier pays the remaining credit to the player in cash. According to the testimony at trial, each type of system played basically the same. Indeed, the trial court found that the different identified electronic Bingo machines had a commonality in their form of operation. Once a player logged into a system by entering his or her PIN, the player selected between a number of different games. All the games were basically the same but displayed different symbols and backgrounds, depending on the type of game selected. The player selected the amount he or she intended to wager on each game. Each game displayed one or more five-by-five column grids populated with numbers. When the player touched the play button on the screen, the game rapidly generated numbers that were displayed on the side and/or bottom of the screen. The game automatically highlighted matching numbers within the grid and identified winning patterns by displaying 13 1130388 the word daub over the numbers forming those patterns. In order to win the game, the player was required to touch that part of the screen displaying the word daub and then touch the bingo button on the screen. Touching the screen in any other location had no effect. Failing to touch the daub or bingo buttons within a specified time caused the player to lose the game. The entire game can be played in a matter of seconds. The testimony was disputed as to whether players of the electronic machines were required to compete against one another. The machines were networked together, and HEDA's expert testified that the software required that at least two players be logged on and playing the same game at the same time in order for the game to function. One of the State's witnesses, however, testified that, following a search of Center Stage during which the gaming facility was cleared of all patrons, he was able to continue to play the electronic games by himself, without other players. Furthermore, the evidence established that there was no way for a player to know how many other players he or she was competing against, or what players were involved in the same game. Nor would a 14 1130388 losing player be able to identify who had won a particular game session, and players were not required to orally announce a win. The State also seized three Roubingo tables from Center Stage. Roubingo is a table game that combines elements of roulette and bingo. A Roubingo table is covered in green felt and has a numbered grid arranged in three long vertical columns. To play, players must purchase betting chips, which he or she then wagers by placing the chips on the numbered grid. A table boss, who oversees the play of the game, determines when betting is stopped. Instead of a roulette wheel, the table is equipped with a ball blower. The table boss activates the ball blower and then selects two balls -– a B ball and an O ball. The winning number is determined by matching the first number of the B ball with the last number of O ball. A player whose chips were placed on the winning number wins additional chips based on the amount of chips wagered. The trial court evaluated both the electronic-gaming devices and the RouBingo tables and concluded that those were not the game commonly or traditionally known as bingo. 15 1130388 First, the trial court addressed the electronic machines and each of the elements described in Cornerstone and reaffirmed in subsequent cases. Electronic Machines As to the first element,7 which explains that the game is one that is played on one or more cards with certain characteristics, the trial court found as follows: A. BINGO CARDS. [T]here are no cardboard, paper, or printed Bingo Cards utilized by the players in playing any of the electronic machines at the Center Stage facility. HEDA asserts that an electronic configuration of the Bingo Cards satisfies the initial requirement under Cornerstone that the games are played with 'cards.' The Court finds no Alabama precedent which adopts this line of reasoning. An animated portrayal of a Bingo Card does not satisfy the Bingo Card requirement of Cornerstone. In its brief to this Court, HEDA argues that the term bingo does not refer to the traditional ... play of bingo set out by the trial court in its order. See, e.g., HEDA's brief, at 33. Among other things, HEDA specifically argues 7 In its brief, HEDA repeatedly refers to the elements listed in Cornerstone as factors, perhaps implying that something less than all of them must be present in order for a game to qualify as the traditional game of bingo. These items are more properly referred to as elements, in that, as noted, the game commonly or traditionally known as bingo includes at least these six elements. 16 1130388 that the trial court erred in finding that the games here did not qualify as bingo because they were not played on cards that were cardboard, paper, or printed. HEDA's brief, at 45. The trial court's description of a game played with cardboard, paper, or printed [b]ingo [c]ards is in fact a description of the game commonly or traditionally known as bingo and comports with our fundamental holding in Cornerstone and subsequent cases that the term bingo must be narrowly construed. Applying this principle, as well as the other rules of statutory construction discussed above, and in the absence of language of a constitutional provision requir[ing] otherwise,8 we reject HEDA's argument that an electronic depiction of a bingo grid will suffice. We consider, therefore, as did the trial court, that the term bingo does in fact refer to such a card as the court described. See also Riley v. Cornerstone, 57 So. 3d 704, 734 (Ala. 2010) (recognizing that the traditional game of bingo is 8 Compare Ex parte State, 121 So. 3d 337 (Ala. 2013) (noting language in Amendment No. 743, Ala. Const. 1901 (now Local Amendments, Greene County, § 1, Ala. Const. 1901 (Off. Recomp.)), applicable to Greene County that expressly provides for electronic marking machines, while also noting the applicability of all the other elements of bingo). 17 1130388 one that is not played by or within the electronic or computerized circuitry of a machine, but one that is played on physical cards (typically made of cardboard or paper)).9 In other words, we find no error in the trial court's finding as to this element. As to the second element, the trial court found as follows: 9 The trial court's understanding is not only consistent with the tenet of narrow construction, but also finds ample support in contemporary dictionaries. The American Heritage Dictionary 240 (2d college ed. 1991), for example, defines a card as a [a] small, flat, usually rectangular piece of stiff paper or thin pasteboard. Other definitions include the following: Card: 'A usually rectangular piece of stiff paper, thin pasteboard, or plastic for various uses.' Random House Dictionary of the English Language (2d ed. 1987). Card: 'A flat piece of stiff paper or thin pasteboard, usually rectangular; used as a surface to write or draw upon, or for other purposes.' Oxford English Dictionary 888 (2d ed. 1989). Card: 'Printed stiff paper for games.' Encarta World English Dictionary (1999). Card .... a flat stiff usu. small and rectangular piece of material (as paper, cardboard, or plastic) usu. bearing information ... Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 186 (11th ed. 2009). 18 1130388