For years, Carroll “Roy” Bond enjoyed the panoramic golf course views, indoor sports court, sauna and elevator of his $4 million Cockeysville Colonial.
Now, with 114 of his illegal video poker machines and $20,000 cash forfeited — and his company effectively banned from doing business in Baltimore County — Bond finds himself at the other end of the spectrum.
“The question is, ‘How do you eat?’ ” said his attorney, Stephen Tully.
On Wednesday, a Baltimore County judge declared three of Bond’s video poker machines illegal. It was a rare verdict against an underground industry that law enforcement officials say has operated with a wink and a nod at corner bars and convenience stores for years.
“They license the machines as amusement devices” that don’t pay out money, said former Baltimore City Vice Sgt. Craig Gentile, who said his agents trailed Bond’s employees and observed them instructing bar owners how to use the machines illegally. “The city’s getting its money. The county’s getting its money. Everybody’s getting paid.”
But if the county issues permits for the devices, they must be legal, Tully said. Illegal devices contain internal recorders — which are impossible to detect from the exterior — that track winnings for payouts, he said.
Bond, 44, has registered hundreds of video poker machines with names like “Cherrymaster,” “Fruit Paradise” and “Crazy Bug,” netting Baltimore County close to $38,000 in annual vendor fees and fees paid by the taverns and grocery stores that house them.
“Roy is actually a bit of a success story,” Gentile said. “When he got out of high school, his father gave him two little machines. He used them to build up his own route and, eventually, he built up his own empire.”
Bond has been generous, with more than $40,000 in contributions to the campaigns of elected officials. He’s given at least $5,000 to Mayor Sheila Dixon and $6,000 to Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith.
But the county also has denied Bond permits for new machines after the May raid that led to his conviction, said Tim Kotroco, the county’s permits director. Depending on how a court case goes, a busted device owner may never get a permit again, he said.
“We support our police department,” Kotroco said. “I think it’s disrespectful to give a permit back after they’ve done fine police work. If they catch you in the act, that’s good enough for me.”
That said, it’s very easy to get a permit in Baltimore County, Kotroco acknowledged: Device owners come to his Towson office with a serial number, write a check and leave with their permit. It’s up to law enforcement to do the rest, he said.
Some gambling opponents like Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot criticize oversight as lax, making the industry ripe for corruption.
“It’s an underground gambling economy that is cheating places like Baltimore County out of needed tax revenue — money to pay for education, health and public safety,” Franchot said.
