The Senate Business and Labor Committee was having the bill drafted Friday, which was the deadline for committee bills, said Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, a member of the committee.
"We talked about it as committee," Jackson said. "We've talked about it several times, and we voted unanimously to do this bill."
Three agents from the Department of Justice Gambling Investigation Division confiscated several items from the store, including two antique roulette wheels, two early 20th century punchboards and a chuck-a-luck, an hourglass-shaped cage that spins with three dice inside.
The agents also tagged as evidence and left a craps table, a blackjack table and a roulette table. Owner Ron Turner estimated that the antiques have a total value of $77,000.
"Some of these things are over 100 years old," Turner told The Daily Inter Lake. "These are not gambling devices. These are antiques ... It's a historical collection. ... This never is, was nor will be a gambling establishment."
The state did not immediately file charges against Ron or Eila Turner.
Gene Huntington, the administrator of the state gambling division, said at the time that state gambling laws do not differentiate between antique and operational gambling devices, with the exception of old slot machines.
"I think they overstepped the intent of the law," Jackson said. "We want to make sure (that the statute) deals solely with equipment used for illegal gambling."
The bill needs to pass the full Senate by a Feb. 28 transmittal deadline, "so it will be on a fast track," Jackson said.
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