Lottery mogul takes game to West Virginia.Byline: The Register-Guard The corporate offices for four of Bill Service and Bruce Davis' five video poker Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console which is a similar size to a slot machine. History Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like monitor with a deli companies sit on a sloping street on the northeast corner of downtown Eugene, a short stroll from riverfront riv·er·front n. The land or property along a river. parkland and the Fifth Street Market boutiques. The building's picket-fence flower boxes help it blend with the surrounding neighborhood's gardens and historic homes. Inside, a framed newspaper clipping (1) Cutting off the outer edges or boundaries of a word, signal or image. In rendering an image, clipping removes any objects or portions thereof that are not visible on screen. See scissoring. See also WCA. draws attention to their 1998 acquisition of the Elmer's Restaurant chain. There is little evidence to suggest the role of gambling profits from storefront operations in creating this corporate success story. It's a business model that Service has in the past two years exported to West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. , where the state lottery A game of chance operated by a state government. Generally a lottery offers a person the chance to win a prize in exchange for something of lesser value. Most lotteries offer a large cash prize, and the chance to win the cash prize is typically available for one dollar. introduced video poker in 2002. The same year, Service stepped down as chief executive officer of Elmer's Restaurants Inc. and its subsidiaries, remaining as a board member, adviser and one of its bigger shareholders. Service got in on the ground floor of what had all the makings of a video poker boom in West Virginia like the one that brought prosperity to many of Oregon's lottery retailers. The West Virginia Lottery The West Virginia Lottery is run by the state government. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). It offers games such as Powerball, Hot Lotto, and numerous scratch tickets. It also runs video lottery, including the MUSL-sponsored Cashola. awards video lottery retailer licenses only to state residents, and initially suspected that Service was trying to skirt the law by owning the retail outlets he was establishing, said Roberta Somerville, the lottery's licensing supervisor. But Service eventually partnered with a West Virginia lobbyist, John Hodges John Robart Hodges, an Australian cricketer, was born in Knightsbridge, London on August 11, 1855 and is believed to have died on January 17, 1933 in Melbourne, Victoria in his adopted country. , and a third business partner, Christine Cameron Bright - the two have 51 percent ownership to Service's 49 percent, Somerville said - which met the legal standard and allowed them to launch 31 video poker parlors starting in 2003. Like the gambling parlors he's helped proliferate pro·lif·er·ate v. To grow or multiply by rapidly producing new tissue, parts, cells, or offspring. in seven Oregon counties, they have been among the most profitable in West Virginia, thanks to a strategy of catering to women who aren't comfortable wagering in bars or taverns. Somerville said Service's reputation for building an empire of video gambling storefronts in Oregon preceded him in West Virginia. "We were aware of Mr. Service's Oregon activity. But by putting Hodges and Christine Cameron Bright in with him, it allowed him to be legal," Somerville said. She said the West Virginia Lottery's security division was "very concerned about the Oregon tie, but there was nothing we could find or use that would prevent any licensing here." - David Steves A WINNING GAME The 27 video lottery retailers owned by companies controlled by Bruce Davis This article is about the American football player. For the American businessman, see Bruce Davis (video game industry). Bruce Davis (born June 21, 1956, in Rutherfordton, North Carolina) is a former professional American football player. , Bill Service and their partners and shareholders: Retailer City Rank* FY '03 FY '03 Sales Commissions Ashley's Cafe Bend 28 $934,427 $248,168 Ashley's Cafe Redmond 138 $622,124 $185,333 Ashley's Cafe No. 2 Bend 58 $803,231 $222,047 Purple Parrot No. 2 Sutherlin 624 $296,646 $99,226 Purple Parrot-Eating Roseburg 61 $799,081 $221,146 Purple Parrot-Green Roseburg 170 $570,359 $173,684 Ashley's Bento A data structure used to store embedded documents in an OpenDoc compound document. Bento, which stands for lunch box in Japanese, provides a "container" to hold the data and a format for defining its contents. Eugene 320 $428,308 $137,677 Ashley's Deli Springfield 23 $946,835 $251,555 Fast Track Deli-Gateway Springfield 19 $976,809 $256,893 Gateway Bistro By Ashley's Springfield 174 $567,487 $172,154 Jasper's Deli Cottage Grove Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery). 285 $450,208 $143,083 Jasper's Deli Eugene 56 $810,965 $222,917 Jasper's Deli Eugene 29 $920,018 $244,754 Jasper's Deli Springfield 43 $847,485 $230,210 Jasper's Deli & Gourmet Eugene 139 $619,350 $184,635 Trackstirs Sports Bar Springfield 48 $833,878 $227,932 Elmer's Pancake-Albany Albany 156 $585,988 $177,192 Cooper's Deli & Pub No. 1 Salem 261 $467,186 $147,654 Cooper's Deli & Pub No. 2 Salem 252 $479,873 $150,374 Cooper's Deli & Pub No. 3 Keizer 193 $540,316 $166,314 Elmer's Pancake-Delta Park Portland 47 $839,473 $229,106 Elmer's Pancake-Beaverton Beaverton 377 $403,217 $131,133 Elmer's Pancake-Hillsboro Hillsboro 230 $503,843 $156,491 Richard's Deli and Pub Tigard 39 $874,683 $236,192 Richard's Deli and Pub Hillsboro 57 $806,821 $222,501 Richard's Deli and Pub-Aloha Aloha 9 $1,047,628 $271,249 Richard's Deli and Pub-Hillsboro Hillsboro 60 $804,521 $221,558 *Ranking among all 2,158 retailers in Oregon Source: Oregon Lottery The Oregon Lottery is run by the State of Oregon. History The present-day Oregon Lottery was enabled by an amendment to the Oregon Constitution approved by voters in the 1984 general election. |
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