Part 4 — Operating Regulations

The playing of games shall be confined to the location specifically described in the license.

All games conducted or operated in the City of Albany under this section shall be conducted and operated in full conformity with, and subject to, the laws of the State of California and the City of Albany.

No licensee, agent or employee of any game room licensed under this section shall knowingly engage in or knowingly permit any other person on the premises to engage in any act in violation of the laws of the State of California, of the ordinances and regulations of the City of Albany, or of the specific conditions of the game room's license.

At least one (1) responsible employee shall at all times during game room hours of operation be physically present at any gaming facility licensed under this section. Such responsible employee shall exercise personal control and direction over the operation of the game room, and shall be available to the Chief of Police and/or his or her designee. During any period of time (including hours within a day, or days) in which the gaming facility is not operating, if no responsible employee shall be physically present at the game room, the licensee shall have provided to the Police Department in advance the name, address and telephone number of a responsible employee who shall be available during such time(s) to the Chief of Police and/or his or her designee.

All games set forth in Penal Code Section 330, or such equivalent section as may be amended from time to time, are prohibited. All other games, as defined by this section, are permissible to the extent they can be and are played in accordance with the terms of a license issued hereunder. No game shall allow individual bets to be placed exceeding five hundred ($500.00) dollars, other than in established tournament play. Gaming facilities may operate on a twenty-four (24) hour basis. The maximum number of tables permitted in any one gaming facility is one hundred fifty (150), and in the City is one hundred fifty (150). Nothing in this section is intend to, or shall, preclude a licensee under a game room license issued hereunder from conducting or permitting to be conducted any other lawful and licensed activity consistent with applicable zoning provisions (including horse racing, parimutuel betting and related uses) within a licensed gaming facility.

It is unlawful for licensee, owner, employee or any other person associated with a game room licensed under this section to demand or collect a fee, charge or interest from any person or in connection with the lending of money, chips, tokens, or any other things of value, where the purpose of such transaction is to enable such person to eat, drink, or play cards at the game room.

• a. It is unlawful for a game room licensee, owner or employee to operate, maintain or propose to maintain a house, player or employee deposit or credit system or any similar system, whereby a person may deposit, draw or maintain an account or credit of money, checks or any other item or representation of value, except as authorized under paragraph b.

• b. The licensee may 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.

• a. The licensee shall post all of the following in a conspicuous location in the game room. The posting shall occur in at least one (1) location for each twenty-five (25) game tables. Posting shall include:

  1. The permitted games and game rules;

  2. A set of operating regulations in a form approved by the Chief of Police and containing the essential provisions of this Part 4;

  3. The dollar equivalent of chips or other representations of value; and

  4. The telephone number of Gamblers Anonymous and a statement that literature is available.

• b. Printed copies of all the posted information shall also be easily available to the public in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Mandarin and/or Cantonese-Chinese.

• c. Copies of all the posted information shall be made available to the public and provided to the City.

Rules and regulations will be established and promulgated with reference to legal games for which a license is issued under the provisions of this section. All such rules and regulations shall have the force of law and any violation thereof shall be considered a violation of this section and a ground for revocation or suspension proceedings.

Licensee agrees to be bound by and observe each and all of the provisions of this section relating to such licenses, and rules promulgated hereunder.

• a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the words and phrases hereinafter set forth shall have the following meanings ascribed to them unless the context clearly requires to the contrary:

  1. "Blind cut" or "false cut" shall mean a maneuver which appears to cut the deck, but does not in fact do so;

  2. "Blind shuffle" shall mean to false shuffle, or to give the deceptive impression of intermixing playing cards, while actually retaining the same sequence of all or a group of cards;

  3. "Burn" is a discard in accordance with the rules of the game, made before the draw when playing draw poker;

  4. "Capping the deck" shall mean to place cards which should not be there onto the top of the deck;

  5. "Cooler" shall mean a deck of cards, secretly prearranged in a known sequence or marked to be substituted for the deck in play;

  6. "Daubing" shall mean to mark cards by applying a faintly visible substance to the back of the cards;

  7. "Greek deal" or "second bottom" shall mean to deal a card which is second from the bottom of the deck;

  8. "Hand mucking" shall mean the surreptitious switching of cards from those that are dealt to a player;

  9. "Hold-out" shall mean a mechanical device used for the purpose of surreptitiously switching or retaining cards;

  10. "Hopping the cut" shall mean to surreptitiously nullify the cutting of the deck;

  11. "Middle dealing" shall mean to deal a card from the center section of the deck;

  12. "Punching" shall mean to mark the back of the cards by creating a dimple or indentation thereon;

  13. "Roughing fluid" shall mean a liquid chemical applied to the back of the cards for the purpose of marking them by roughening the surface;

  14. "Run-up" or "stacking" or "stocking" shall mean to shuffle the cards in such a fashion as to surreptitiously arrange the sequence of known cards;

  15. "Sanding" shall mean to mark cards by applying an abrasive substance to the cards;

  16. "Shiner" shall mean a mirror or other reflecting device used for the purpose of enabling a player to see cards which the player is not entitled to see under the rules of the game being played;

  17. "Slick sleeve" or "mohair sleeve" shall mean a long sleeve on a clothing garment to assist in holding out a playing card;

  18. "Slug" shall mean a group of cards;

  19. "Transmitter" shall mean an electronic or radio device used for the purpose of transmitting signals or information to another player, who receives such signals or information by use of a "receiver";

  20. "White flash" shall mean a form of daubing whereby a chemical is used to create a "white on white" marking on the back of the cards.

• b. Techniques Generally. It is unlawful for any person or persons to use any of the cheating techniques described by this section, or such other techniques as may be identified and prohibited, whether or not such techniques are successful. The licensee or key management employees or responsible employees shall immediately notify the police department upon the detection of any person(s) suspected of cheating.

• a. A licensee shall exclude, remove, or cause to have excluded or removed, from the premises of a gaming facility any of the following persons that the licensee knows or reasonably should know to be:

  1. A person who has engaged in or been convicted of bookmaking, sale or possession for sale of a controlled substance, illegal gambling activities, pimping or prostitution; or

  2. A person who, in the opinion of a licensee or its employees, is obviously under the influence of an intoxicating beverage, narcotic or drug; or

  3. A person who is under the age of twenty-one (21) years; or

  4. A person engaged in cheating as defined by subsection 8-11.45 or a "shill".

• b. A licensee, owner, or employee of a game room, or any law enforcement officer of the City of Albany, may exclude or eject from any game room a person described in paragraph a.

• c. A person who is excluded or ejected from a game room may apply to the Chief of Police for a hearing on the question of whether this section is applicable to him or her. The hearing shall be held within ten (10) days after receipt of the hearing request, or sooner if required by law, or at such other times as the applicant and Chief of Police may agree.

• d. If, upon the hearing, the Chief of Police determines that the exclusion or ejection would not apply to the applicant, all game rooms licensed by the City shall be notified in writing of such determination. If the determination is that the exclusion or ejection was proper, the Chief of Police shall inform the applicant and game rooms of that determination in writing. Such determination is subject to review by any court of competent jurisdiction.

• e.

• No game room which excludes an individual based upon this section shall be subject to civil liability.

• a. Alcoholic beverages may be sold, dispensed, consumed, or permitted in licensed gaming room facilities in accordance with applicable State and local laws and regulations.

• b. No on-duty employee of a gaming facility shall consume alcoholic beverages or controlled substances, whether on or off the premises.

• c. No complimentary or reduced price alcoholic beverages shall be offered in violation of State law.

• d. No licensee or other person in charge or control of any game at a gaming room shall permit any person to play in any game licensed by the provisions of this section at any time while such person appears to be, or is, under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or controlled substance.

• e. No licensee or other person in charge or control of any game at a gaming room shall permit any person to enter the premises while such person appears to be, or is, in the opinion of the licensee or duly authorized agents or employees, under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or controlled substance.

• a. The licensee shall keep and maintain all gaming room books, documents, records and accounts (whether recorded in printed form or as electronic media) in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied. Such books, documents, records and files must be retained for a period of at least three (3) years and must be made available for inspection or audit at the demand of the City. Any and all video or audio tape recordings made for security or other purposes shall be marked with the date and time made and shall be kept, in an unaltered state, for a period of thirty (30) days, or for a longer period when so directed in writing by the City, and must be made available to any law enforcement agency for duplication upon demand.

• b. The licensee shall provide to the City Administrator, as and when required under this section, a daily record of gross revenue. Such records shall be in a form acceptable to the City Administrator.

• c. Nothing in this section shall limit the City's right to inspect or audit the books, documents, records and accounts of the licensee, at any time, relating to items other than gross revenues.