The owner of a St. Charles bar is suing Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, saying she is overstepping state law in her crackdown on illegal slot machines in Missouri.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Cole County Circuit Court, pits Tuners Bar & Grill and its owner James Schappe against the Republican attorney general in a legal battle over whether Hanaway can use a federal court ruling against a different slot machine operator to force gas stations, bars and restaurants to stop offering the games.
Schappe, who could not be reached for comment, says in the lawsuit that the General Assembly has not taken action to prohibit, license or regulate video lottery games, which means Hanaway’s attempt to stop the spread of the machines has no legal basis.
