INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Days after a state inquiry into a long-running senior center euchre game stirred controversy, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Wednesday sought to tamp down criticism and suggested state gambling regulators need to use common sense when going about their job.
“We made it very clear to our gaming commission that there would be no state action on those euchre games at the senior center in Muncie,” Pence told reporters Wednesday. “I reminded our team that we needed to use common sense as we apply Indiana state law.”
The flap started when the Indiana Gaming Commission sent an email to the Delaware County Senior Citizens Center after receiving a complaint about the thrice-weekly euchre game. Residents who played could pay a few dollars for the chance to win prizes like toilet paper, canned peaches and cookies.
Pence said that the state never intended to crack down on the senior center and merely wanted to provide information about gambling laws. But by showing interest in the game, regulators “created the impression that they were preparing to take action,” Pence said.
Officials at the senior center previously disputed the governor’s claim. They say state gambling regulators told them that they can no longer collect money to play the game, The (Muncie) Star Press reported.
The senior center, and at least one other facility in the state, have halted games as a result – in the process angering many seniors, the paper reported.
That’s prompted Pence to consider a change in law. He says he’s willing to work with state lawmakers to explicitly allow similar low-stakes games.
Pence also called on state regulators to be more considerate.
“I want our team to be more careful, more thoughtful in the future, Pence said. “People can be assured of that.”
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
