[bigboydan]

I don't find this to be a big deal, but the Republicans sure are having a field day with it.

Lawmaker aided colleague’s use of gaming card under false ID

By Jake Wagman
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/03/2007

A state senator cited this week for illegally entering a casino had help from another legislator.

State Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, was issued a summons Tuesday night on the Isle of Capri casino in Boonville for presenting false identification to gain access to a gambling boat, a misdemeanor criminal offense.

Smith was one of several legislators on an organized tour of the casino. After the tour, Smith says, he sought to return to the gaming floor to play cards. But Smith says he forgot his drivers license, meaning he could not register for the required entrance card.

That's when one of Smith's colleagues, state Rep. Joe Aull, D-Marshall, stepped forward. Aull admits using his drivers license to obtain an entrance card that was passed onto Smith.

"We were not trying to break any casino laws or circumvent any rules," Aull, a retired school superintendent, said Thursday. "I was just trying to help a friend get into the casino."

The entrance card, used to play slot machines and purchase chips, ensures that gamblers do not exceed the state's loss limit of $500 every two hours.



Smith, who was elected last year, said he took Aull's card at the urging of an Isle of Capri lobbyist hosting Smith and other legislators.

"Our host at the casino who handed me the card suggested that it would not be a problem to use it," said Smith, 33. "In a momentary lapse of judgment, I took her advice."

The Kansas City lobbyist identified by Smith, Lynne M. Schlosser, did not return phone calls seeking comment. A spokeswoman for Isle of Capri, Jill Haynes, declined to discuss the matter.

The incident is being investigated by the Missouri Gaming Commission, which is looking through surveillance footage from the casino that night. Once the commission's report is done, the citation against Smith could be forwarded to Cooper County officials for prosecution.

In the past year, 243 people have been cited for presenting a false identification on a Missouri casino. A law approved by the Legislature in 2000 makes the offense a Class B misdemeanor, similar to trespassing, that comes with a maximum fine of $500 and up to six months in jail.

Clarence Greeno, an enforcement manager with the gaming commission, said it is also possible, though not necessarily likely, that whoever gave the card to Smith could face charges.

"It's something that might be presented to a prosecutor," Greeno said. "But I don't see it as something that is specifically prohibited by statute."

After Smith re-entered the casino, he went to the poker room, where he played no-limit Texas Hold 'Em with another state senator, Chuck Graham, a Democrat from Columbia, who says he advised Smith against using another person's access card.

"I said, 'I wouldn't do it if I were you in your shoes,'" Graham recalled.

While at the table, Smith says he sent an e-mail on his BlackBerry, which may have attracted the attention of gaming officials. Many poker rooms have restrictions against wireless devices.

Gaming commission officers later approached Smith, issued him a summons for false ID and escorted him from the casino.

Smith, who ran for Congress in 2004, is a member of the state Senate's Judiciary Committee, which hears legislation dealing with criminal procedure.

Paul Sloca, a spokesman for the Missouri GOP, called Smith's run-in with the law a "disgrace" and "embarrassment" that may "ultimately lead to more serious political consequences beyond the legal ones."