Shenanigan’s owner cited in gambling raid

By TJ Aulds
The Daily News

TEXAS CITY — Frank Skaggs is blaming the city for forcing him to close one of his businesses.

Skaggs, the former mayoral candidate who sued the city over a previous eight-liner ordinance, said he shut down Our Place game room last week, claiming the city was out to get him.

Our Place operated next door to Skaggs’ Shenanigan’s nightclub on 34th Street. The nightclub, which also has some eight-liners, remains open, said Skaggs.

He said a letter issued by Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk and distributed by police to the city’s handful of game rooms forced him to close the game room.

“They are just trying to find ways to shut me down and arrest me again,” said Skaggs, who faces charges of running a gambling place following a raid on Shenanigan’s in December. Skaggs was operating a Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament that authorities said was illegal.

“I am not going to run something that is illegal, and this letter says what I was doing was illegal,” said Skaggs. City police were “just trying to find a way to shut me down for good,” he said.

Police Cpl. Charles Totty, who serves as the liaison with game rooms, said he issued copies of a letter from Sistrunk to operators. The letter outlines the district attorney’s interpretation of court decisions on what is and what is not considered illegal in how game rooms award prizes, tickets and gift certificates.

The letter details what Sistrunk said his office believed to be violations of the law.

Those included any award of cash, gift certificates or anything that may be exchanged for cash or gift certificates and what is commonly referred to in game rooms as stacking of tickets, where players can collect prize tickets and add them up for later exchange of prizes.

Sistrunk’s letter was released in May 2003 and officials in his office said it had been posted on the county’s Web site for 20 months.

“The stance of our office is that we would prefer the establishments be warned and given an opportunity to determine if they are or aren’t in compliance with the laws before any charges are considered by our office,” Sistrunk said. “It is not uncommon for local agencies to pass out copies of the gambling statutes and notice from the office that they may or may not be in violation.”

But Skaggs contends that Texas City officials’ distribution of the letter amounts to harassment and singles him out.

“The only reason they sent this to me was to tell me they were coming to shut me down,” said Skaggs. “Why else would they send me this letter?”

Totty said Skaggs’ complaints had no merit. He said the letter is given to every person who sought a permit to operate 8-liners in the city.

“This is just information provided by the district attorney to these operators,” said Totty. “No one is picking on Frank Skaggs. We gave these to everybody.”

Totty said copies of the letters were also issued to the city’s other two game rooms.

Skaggs wasn’t buying it.

“So all this city has now is another empty building because they want to run businesses out of town,” he said. “There are real criminals out there. Why are they picking on me and my customers?”

When asked why he blamed the city for his decision to close down his game room even though the letter he said was responsible for his decision came the district attorney and was based on state law, Skaggs said: “They (the city) are after me and this was just a way for them to have an excuse to come after me for running for mayor. Just like that poker deal, they made me and my customers look like criminals all to get back at me.”

Totty said there was no police or city conspiracy to go after Skaggs.

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On the Net:
Copy of letter concerning 8-liners in Galveston County issued May 2003: www2.co.galveston.tx.us/distatty/da.htm