Woman turns on gambling machine and is shot by partner, police say.
A woman set a gaming machine on fire and was then shot by a gaming partner because he was upset because he wanted to play it next, Houston police said.
The incident occurred in Houston, Texas, around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to KPRC. Two women were using the machine in an unspecified public place when one of the women became upset with the machine when she began to lose, said Houston Police Department (HPD) Lt. Larry Crowson.
The first woman started pouring lighter fluid into the machine, then turned it on, while the second woman was reportedly angry that she also wanted to touch the machine, police said.
The two women began arguing in the parking lot, at which point the second woman shot the first, Houston police said. The first woman was then taken to the hospital where she remained in stable condition, the aforementioned news station reported.
The second woman left before officers arrived, police said. OkeyNews contacted HPD for comment.
Most forms of gambling are illegal in Texas. As a result, it lacks casinos, unlike its neighboring states of Oklahoma and Kansas. Despite this, gaming machines can be found in public places in Texas, such as convenience stores.
Gaming machines are legal as long as they don’t award cash rewards, Texas law states. Some machines distribute tickets or tokens that can be redeemed for prizes or small amounts of cash. The cash or wholesale value of the prize must not exceed more than 10 times the amount charged for playing the game or $ 5, whichever is less.
Texas also allows organizations to play bingo games with cash prizes. However, those organizations can only host up to three gaming sessions per week. They cannot award more than $ 750 for a single game, according to the Texas Lottery Commission.
State-registered organizations may also hold a maximum of two raffles annually as long as the raffle offers non-cash prizes. The value of the award cannot exceed $ 50,000 unless the award is donated to the organization, states the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
Gambling boats have also left Texas ports. These ships take passengers into international waters, where no specific legal authority oversees gambling restrictions. Legal experts say these boats circumvent state law and may be illegal.
In 2019, the Democratic representative of the state of Texas, Richard Peña Raymond, introduced a bill to require port cities to approve the existence of these game boats so that they continue to operate.
Illegal gambling in Texas generates as much as $ 2 billion per year, according to the Texas A&M publication The battalion.