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RALEIGH, N.C. - A Superior Court judge denied a request Thursday from video poker operators to temporarily block the first phase of a state ban on the machines from taking effect this weekend.
The North Carolina Amusement Machine Association, many of its member companies and some video poker players had asked Wake County Judge Narley Cashwell to issue a temporary restraining order, which would put the law's provisions on hold while their lawsuit is pending.
But in a one-page order, Cashwell concluded the plaintiffs "have failed to demonstrate that they are likely to sustain immediate and irreparable harm ... or that they are likely to prevail on the merits of the case."
The group sued two weeks ago, questioning the constitutionality of the law approved in June. Beginning Sunday, it requires the number of machines in operation at any location be reduced to two from three. That number will drop to one by March 1 and zero on July 1. Repeat offenders or those caught with five or more machines would be guilty of a felony.
Cashwell heard arguments Wednesday in Raleigh for less than half an hour from attorneys representing the association and the state, which is defending the law and opposed the temporary order.
Raleigh-based lawyer Gene Boyce, who is representing about 100 businesses, said he planned to seek a hearing on a preliminary injunction soon because his clients will start losing money Sunday.
"The attorney general says the law is good public policy," Boyce said Thursday. "Our position is that driving people out of business is not good public policy."
The lawsuit argues the law will deprive machine owners of compensation for their outlawed machines, violate their equal-protection rights and void a state compact with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians that allows them to operate a video gambling casino on their reservation in western North Carolina.
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