Eight-Liner Game Rooms Are Causing A Big Problem In South Texas

Texas has a gambling problem – and the addicts aren’t just the gamblers, but local governments too.

 

By Brenda SalinasApril 20, 2015 3:38 pm

The Little Vegas of South Texas – that’s what the city of Falfurrias has been called. Dozens of eight-liners, or “maquinitas,” are splattered all over South Texas.

State law says that each game room can have a maximum of 100 machines, and they can’t have cash payouts over $5. But anecdotal evidence says owners don’t always follow the rules – and that the local police might be looking the other way.

John Bartell is a reporter for KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley. Listen to him talk in the player above.