HITCHCOCK — City commissioners are scheduled to discuss the future of 8-liners at a workshop Tuesday.
Commissioners will consider a moratorium on permits for the games and an ordinance regulating the machines and game rooms where they are played.
City records indicate Hitchcock is home to at least 670 video slot machines, also known as 8-liners. Outside of an ordinance that allows the city to charge game operators a $100 annual license fee per machine, the city has no other regulations on the games.
There are at least 10 game rooms in the city, City Commissioner Lee Stephenson said. There also are dozens of machines in convenience stores in the city.
The lack of regulation has earned a portion of state Highway 6 in Hitchcock the nickname “The Little Strip,” comparing the stretch to the famed Las Vegas Strip.
Stephenson, a Texas City police officer, and fellow Commissioner Henry Coger want to see the machines and game rooms regulated. Most of the game rooms in the city restrict access and require memberships, Stephenson said. And though the game rooms cannot by law make cash payouts, many have security measures that rival those of casino operations along the Louisiana-Texas border, he said.
Mayor Anthony Matranga said he thought it was time to have ordinances on the books governing the machines and game rooms. Still, he said he feared rules that were too restrictive would force some operators out of business and leave several empty buildings along the main drag.
City records show that the city brings in about $67,000 a year from the licensing fees charged for the machines.
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At A Glance
WHAT: Hitchcock City Commission workshop
WHEN: 5 p.m. Tuesday
WHERE: City Hall, 7423 state Highway 6, in Hitchcock
