(A) Each and all of the games conducted or operated in the city pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be conducted and operated in full conformity with, and subject to, all the provisions of federal, state and local laws.
(B) Fees may only be collected for the playing of permissible games either through a time rental fee for occupancy at a card table or a predetermined fixed fee assessed of all players at a card table and collected prior to the playing of a hand.
(C) No card room licensee, owner or employee shall knowingly permit or allow any person under the age of 21 years of age at any time to be in or upon the card room premises; except that a person under the age of 21 years of age, when accompanied by his/her parent or legal guardian who is 21 years of age or older, may be permitted to be in the restaurant area of the card room premises only when there for purposes of eating. In order for persons under the age of twenty-one years of age to be allowed to be present in the restaurant area of the card room the restaurant must be in a room or area separated from the gaming area of the card room premises. Under no circumstances is a person under the age of 21 years of age allowed to be in any other area of the card room except as necessary to travel directly to and from the restaurant when accompanied by a person who is 21 years of age or older.
(D) For purposes of this section a "room or area separated from the gaming area of the card room premises" means a room or area completely separated from the gaming area by walls which are at least five feet in height. The room or area shall contain no card tables. There shall be no more than one doorway of no more than seven feet in width for entry from or exit to the gaming area.
(E) No card room licensee, owner or employee shall permit the farming out, assigning, leasing, renting, or subletting of any games or card tables on premises lawfully licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(F) This section shall not preclude any profit sharing with employees or preclude use of a management company.
(G) The playing of all games permitted under this chapter shall be confined to the approved card playing area of each licensed card room as set forth in the license and no playing of any games shall be permitted in any other area or location.
(H) Permissible Games. A list of "permissible games" including any specific rules thereto shall be adopted by Resolution of the Council.
(1) No game shall be played at any card room unless it is listed as a permissible game.
(2) All permissible games shall be played in strict conformity to California Penal Code Section 330, and all other state gaming laws.
(3) The licensee shall file with the Police Chief for the Police Chief's approvals the rules on how each game and variation thereof is to be played. The licensee shall allow the playing of permissible games only in strict conformity with the rules approved by the Police Chief.
(4) All other games of chance are hereby prohibited.
(I) Game Rules. The rules describing how each game conducted on the premises is to be played shall be posted on the premises of the card room in a conspicuous place. Printed copies of the rules shall also be easily available to the public.
(1) The rules which are posted and made available to the public shall be identical to the rules provided to the Police Chief pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.
(2) The rules shall be made available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Hmong, Lao, Cambodian, and any other language as requested by a patron.
(3) No card room licensee, owner or employee shall permit any person to play in any game at any time while such person is obviously under the influence of intoxicating beverage, narcotic or drug.
(J) Exclusion of Persons from Card Rooms.
(1) A card room licensee shall not allow entry and shall exclude or eject from the premises any person who has been engaged in or been convicted of bookmaking, loan sharking, the sale of controlled substances, illegal gambling activities, prostitution, pimping, pandering or whose presence in or about such card room would be inimical to the interests of legitimate gaming.
(2) No card room licensee, owner or employee shall permit any person to enter a card room while such person appears to be obviously under the influence of any intoxicating beverage, narcotic or drug.
(3) Any person refused entry, excluded, or ejected by a card room may appeal to the City Administrator as to whether the conditions for exclusion or ejection as set forth in division (J) of this section are applicable. The City Administrator shall appoint a hearing officer who shall conduct a hearing at which time both the person excluded and the licensee may present evidence. The decision of the hearing officer shall be final. The card room licensee and appellant shall reimburse the city for the cost of holding such hearing.
(K) Complimentary or reduced priced alcoholic drinks shall be prohibited in the card room premises.
(L) A notice setting forth the procedure for making and/or filing complaints by patrons of the card room shall be prominently posted on the premises. Such complaint procedure shall at a minimum include provisions for logging in the verbal and written complaints, the name, address, and telephone number of complainant, and a mechanism for transmitting such log to the Police Department on a daily basis.
(M) Limits on Bets and Wagers. No card room licensee, owner or employee shall allow any persons playing in any game to make any single bet or wager in excess of $2,000 or at any time during any game to permit an ante in excess of $200 total sum anted by players participating in the game. Notwithstanding this provision, the Council may, by resolution, set a lower wager limit than the maximum listed herein on a game by game basis.
(N) Identification Card Display. It shall be unlawful for any card room owner or employee to be physically present at any time upon said premises without having prominently displayed his or her own personal identification card issued by the Police Chief pursuant to this chapter identifying such person with the card room.
(1) The identification card shall be prominently displayed on the outermost garment at approximately chest height. Such identification card shall at all times be in good and readable condition.
(O) Employment of Persons To Stimulate Play Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any card room licensee, owners interest-holder, manager, key management employee, or employee to engage in or persuade any person to play cards for the purpose of stimulating play where such person is to receive any compensation or reward, whether financial or otherwise, present or promised; or where such reward or revenue is to be diverted to the card room licensee or owner except as allowed under division (O)(1) of this section.
(1) The licensee may utilize proposition players. A proposition player must wear a badge at all times identifying the player as an employee of the licensee. Other than compensation for the time spent in acting in such activities as an employee of the licensee, no gifts, rewards or any other thing of value shall be given to the proposition player by the card room licensee, owner, interest-holder, manager, key management employee or employee.
(P) It is unlawful for any card room licensee, owner or employee to engage in the lending of money, chips, tokens or anything of value, either real or promised, to any person for the purpose of allowing that person to eat, drink or engage in any game or gambling on the premises.
(Q) It is unlawful for the card room licensee, owner or employee to cash any personal check which does not state the amount on the face of the check.
(R) Operation of House Deposit or Credit System Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any card room licensee, owner or employee to operate, maintain or purport to maintain any house, player or employee deposit or credit system or any system similar thereto, whereby a person may deposit, draw or maintain any account or credit of money, checks or any other item or representation of value, except as expressly authorized pursuant to divisions (R)(1) and (2) of this section.
(1) The licensee shall be allowed to provide chips or other representations of value paid for in advance by the patron in cash or by personal check.
(2) The licensee shall be allowed to accept a patron's chips or other winnings and provide the patron with a check drawn on the licensee's account for the amount of the patron's chips or other winnings.
(3) The dollar equivalent of any such chips or other representations shall be posted in the same manner as the game rules pursuant to this chapter. In the alternative the dollar equivalent may be placed prominently upon the face of each chip or other representation of value.
(S) All card room licensees shall make literature published by Gamblers Anonymous easily available in a visible location in the card room. If literature published by Gamblers Anonymous is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Hmong, Lao, Cambodian, and any other language requested by a patron, the card room permittee shall be required to make such literature easily available.
(T) Inspection of Premises. All card rooms shall be open for inspection during normal business hours to the Police Chief, the Finance Director, the city auditor or their duly authorized representatives, without a search warrant.
(1) All card room records, including but not limited to papers, books of account, ledgers, audits, reports, personnel records, information stored in computers and on computer tape or disks, video tape, microfilm or microfiche, shall be available for inspection and copying during normal business hours to the Police Chief, the Finance Director or their duly authorized representatives without search warrant.
(U) It shall be unlawful for any individual player or other unauthorized person to enter any secure areas within the premises or for any operator, agent or employee of any duly permitted card room to permit any player or unauthorized person to enter any secure areas within the card room premises.
(V) It shall be unlawful for any patron or any other person not a permittee to bring cards into a card room. It shall be unlawful for any person other than a licensee, authorized employee or a patron then playing cards to have playing cards in his or her possession while in a card room. It shall be unlawful for any person in a card room other than on-duty employees with valid registration cards to have playing cards in his or her possession outside of a designated card playing area.
(W) It shall be the responsibility of the licensee, management and their employees to fully cooperate with card game surveillance and protection personnel in the detection, apprehension and identification of those individuals involved in cheating, fraudulent practices, or other unlawful practices. Management shall retain and deliver to the Police Department as evidence in arrests or detention, all playing cards and implements suspected of involvement in cheating. Management shall cooperate with card room surveillance personnel whether provided by a governmental policing agency, a city-contracted service, city-administered or licensee-assigned.
(Ord. 684 C.S., passed 6-3-98)