* CORRECTION * - Electronic gaming devices have never been located at Fitzie’s Marina and Pub, in Leonardtown, and three other locations that were reported here and elsewhere last week.

 Fitzie’s was included in the list of gaming device locations released by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office on March 13.(see below)

 On Wednesday, Sheriff Tim Cameron said Fitzie’s was included on the listed based on information received, but it turned out to be inaccurate.

 St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer, Dep. Cindy Allen, said Fitzie’s was closed for the first visit by police, and officers spotted through the window a table-top machine that appeared to be a gaming device.

 When officers visited Fitizie's for a second time while open, they confirmed the Pub had no such machines.

 "We knew that would be a quick way to make money, but we chose not to go that route because we are a family-orientated business," Fitzie's owner Danny Fitzgerald told The Bay Net on Wednesday.

 Allen said officers also discovered that three other establishments also had no machines present when police visited last week. They were: International Beverage, Lexington Park, Hills Store, Mechanicsville, and VFW in California. The Dew Drop Inn, of Hollywood, was reported to have their machines removed as of March 13.

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 Armed with a fresh opinion from the Maryland Attorney General, St. Mary’s Sheriff Tim Cameron sent out teams of investigators to start cracking down on “electronic gaming devices” that have began appearing by the truckload in Southern Maryland.

 The number of electronic gaming devices (EGDs) in the county has been reported to be near 1,000, but on Tuesday morning Sheriff Cameron said an actual tally by officials found 334 machines at 23 locations.

 The first of two main issues creating confusion about the machines’ legality is whether the machines are considered a true game of chance, “slots”; or a predetermined winning ticket dispenser, nicknamed “electronic bingo.”

 “Bona fide” charitable organizations are permitted to use “gaming devices” to raise funds, according to an opinion issued Monday by Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler.

Brass Rail owner 'Dickie' Gatton is interviewed by police, while a TV camera looks on. The Bay Net photos by Sean Rice

 The second major issue facing local establishments hosting “gaming devices” is the stringent management procedures required by the charitable organizations that own the machines.

 Among the regulations: Each charity can operate only five machines, and a given location can host only five machines; the management of the machine must be conducted by the charitable organization; and no proceeds from the device can go to the host location.

 “It’s quite clear there are a number of illegal devices here in the county,” Sheriff Cameron told reporters Tuesday morning before teams of investigators set off to investigate all the known machines in the county.

 The Sheriff’s office was assisted by the Maryland Comptroller’s Office, and police officers from St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles counties.

 Teams of investigators split the list of establishments (see at right). At each location, police presented owners a copy of the recent Attorney General opinion, and helped complete a 10-page survey aimed at collecting all pertinent information about the devices and how they are managed.

 One of the first locations visited by police (and television cameras) was the Brass Rail in Great Mills. Investigators spend mare than an hour talking to owner ‘Dickie’ Gatton and inspecting the 39 machines there.

 Szewczyk, who manages Little Flower Charities, said all the rules pertaining to theses devices have been followed.

 “We started our operation (in Aug. 2007) after the State’s Attorney gave us an opinion,” Szewczyk said Tuesday while officials inspected the machines and interviewed Gatton.

 Szewczyk said Little Flower basically kicked-off the rush of EGDs after receiving guidelines from State’s Attorney Richard Fritz.

 “A big part of the contention is ‘what’s a pull tab machine?’,” Szewczyk said. “These are my machines … it’s just a new way of packaging pull tabs.”

 The EGDs at Brass Rail have tags indicating which charity is receiving the proceeds. Little Flower Charities manages six specific organizations that are receiving proceeds at Brass Rail. Each individual organization has five machines. Near 10 more machines at Brass Rail are operated by the Lyons Club and Little Flower Alumni Association.

 Szewczyk said he can’t speak for the other locations in the county, but the EGDs hosted at Brass Rail are following all laws that are applicable.

 “If they tell us we’re doing it wrong, well then we’re done,” Szewczyk said. “Or we’ll find the way to do it legally.”

 Sheriff Cameron is pretty confident that not all locations are following the rules correctly; with one reason being the machines themselves may require a specialist to determine whether it is “electronic bingo” or a game of chance like typical slots.

 Cameron said he contacted Baltimore Police officials about using the services of a special division there that is trained in identifying one type of machine from another.

 “We’re talking about something that, one day before that opinion was issued, was considered legal,” Cameron said. “The point of today’s operation is a fact-finding mission … then we’ll formulize a plan for enforcement and seizure.”

 “We’ll know what’s legal and what’s not by tomorrow hopefully,” Cameron said, adding that he is also hopeful business owners will cooperate with the operation.

 “I wouldn’t be upset at all if most of them packed up and left,” the sheriff said. “Today is the first time I will be laying my eyes on one of these machines.”

See slideshow below for pictures from the Sheriff's morning press conference and officials investigating at Brass Rail.

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