ELMHURST, IL – The owner of an Elmhurst convenience store last month blamed two gambling machines in the business on the company that markets them, police said.
The 33-year-old owner of Power Market convenience store, 572 W. Lake St., was cited on a charge of having the machines.
Patch obtained the police report through a public records request.
It was the second time in recent years that the business got in trouble over such machines.
On June 23, police said they found the machines in the store. Such devices are illegal in Elmhurst businesses.
The owner, who bought the business a couple of years before, told officers that an employee of the machine vendor, Sweep West, told him such devices were legal in Elmhurst and the rest of the state, according to the report.
The employee assured the owner that he had checked with the city, saying other local businesses were his clients, the report said.
The owner explained that a customer could put money into the machine, play games and, based on performance, receive a prize receipt, police said. The customer could present the receipt to Power Market for payment.
Sweep West owns the machines, with Power Market only getting a part of the earnings, police said. The officers were told that the machines had been there for three months.
A digital disclaimer on the devices indicated they were "sweepstakes" machines, not kiosks for gambling
While the officers were there, the owner called a Sweep West representative, who again said the machines were legal in Elmhurst, according to the report.
The officers asked the owner to unplug the machines and cover them until they were removed. The owner did so.
The police checked other convenience stores, restaurants and smoke shops in town for gambling machines. None had them.
Under state law, fraternal organizations can have such machines, as long as they get licenses. The American Legion has them, police said. Knights of Columbus was closed when an officer dropped by.
In November 2023, Elmhurst police ordered gambling machines removed from Power Market. Officers were told the "sweepstakes" devices were installed a day earlier.
A clerk told officers that Utah-based Kiosk Guys rented the space for the machines and were responsible for them.
A representative of Kiosk Guys told the police the machines were "sweepstakes promotional kiosks" and were not used for gambling.
The representative also said Elmhurst did not ban such machines under the state's sweepstakes law, according to a police report. He also said customers could play by paying money or for free.
On the homepage of its website, Sweep West has a section titled "How It's Legal." It states that state law allows games of chance that do not require payment or purchase to participate.
"The Kiosks provide free sweepstakes entries which are merely incidental to a purchase," the company said. "The Kiosks provide for a free method of entry for the sweepstakes where no purchase is necessary at all."
Patch left a message for comment with Sweep West early Thursday morning.
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