The case of Katrina Booker, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison earlier this month, shows that Mississippi’s gambling laws are in dire need of an update.
Best Penny Slots Online - Play Free & Real Money Penny SlotsBooker, a suburban Memphis city councilwoman, received the lengthy sentence after being convicted on three counts of operating an illegal gambling establishment. The “establishments” in question were the basement of her home and two storage lockers.
Booker is appealing the decision, but that won’t put the last four months of her life back you might say.
Gambling Responsibly? Not a Chance.
A mother of five and a cancer survivor, Booker allowed other adults to play bingo and buy lotto-style tickets in her home and storage units. No one is suggesting that she ran a ‘reverse speakeasy,’ where patrons drank moonshine while lighting cigarettes with $20 bills.
Booker permitted other financially struggling adults to spend a few bucks on some games in a storage unit. And for this, a judge has ordered that she spend the next decade of her life behind bars.
What Were the Charges Against Katrina Booker?
Booker, who has served on the Southaven City Council since 2017, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges of operating an “illicit gamling operation.” She was facing up to a year in jail and $500 in fines for each count, but Dewey performed an elaborate thought experiment before arriving at a more severe punishment.
Dewey claimed that he had to impose a stiff sentence to deter Booker from … continuing to run a bingo game in her basement.
“I think it rises to the level of a serious offense, one that if not met with substantial probation before me today will more than likely recur,” Dewey said during the hearing, per the Commercial Appeal. “To just brush it aside with no consequences … would send the wrong message to your community and to others that may be listening.”
Dewey, who was elected to the bench in 2018, chose to ignore the facts in the case and manufacture a hypothetical future scenario in which Booker becomes a nefarious gambling kingpin.
Councilwoman Katrina Booker
Booker’s attorneys argued that their client should be placed on probation, citing her clean record, community involvement, and status as a single mother.
But Dewey apparently saw beyond the surface in this case, and he knew that Booker was really Doyle Brunson hiding his true identity beneath a veneer of suburban politicking.
That’s the only explanation for why he handed down such a draconian sentence.
Booker has been free on bail since her April arrest, but a judge revoked it following the June sentencing. She turned herself into authorities last week to begin her term.
Tips on How To Choose A Good Online Casino in Canada For 2023“It’s just so absurd because all over Mississippi, there are places called bingo halls, and they’re huge, and there’s probably 500 people in there, and it’s basically a casino.”
– Andrew W. Martin, defense attorney
Defense attorney Andrew W. Martin says his client will appeal the ruling and file motions for a new trial. He called the sentence “unreasonable” and unsupported by the evidence presented in court.
“She’s never been in trouble with the law before,” Martin told FOX13 Memphis. “It’s just so absurd because all over Mississippi, there are places called bingo halls, and they’re huge, and there’s probably 500 people in there, and it’s basically a casino.”
Mississippi Gambling Laws Need Clarification
Mississippi is one of the gambling capitals of the United States.
The southeastern state features commercial and tribal casinos, many of which have become major tourist attractions on the Gulf Coast and along the Mississippi River gaming corridor that connects Vicksburg and Natchez.
However, Katrina Booker’s 10-year sentence shows that the state’s anti-gambling laws have failed to keep pace with its pro-gambling laws.
Mississippi Code Ann. § 97—63 makes it unlawful for anyone to “knowingly establish, maintain or operate any gambling house.” Violators face up to one year in jail and/or a fine between $100 and $500 for each instance of illegally running a gambling operation.
united states online casino real moneyUnfortunately, the law does not offer much definition regarding what exactly constitutes an illegal gambling establishment.
According to Mississippi Code Ann. § 97-47, gambling consists of “risking any property for a chance to win something of value.” However, the activity is not considered gambling if it falls under certain exceptions, including bingo (if conducted by a qualified organization), horse race betting, and charitable raffles.
Lawmakers have offered various definitions and interpretations of what separates legal gambling from illegal gambling.
For instance, Mississippi Code Ann. § 67-7-201 states that a “social gambling” exception applies when the following conditions are met:
- The gambling takes place in a private place
- No one makes more than $50 in an hour or $500 total
- No one accepts stakes from more than six people in a 30-day span
- People are not playing for high stakes (“the bets or stakes are not otherwise unlawfully large”)
- People are not playing too frequently (“the gaming occurs on an infrequent basis”)
These conditions certainly muddied the waters in the Katrina Booker case.
Booker argued that her activities fell under the social gambling umbrella, and a police officer who testified during her plea hearing acknowledged that her operations appeared to meet those criteria.
However, prosecutors argued that the scale of Booker’s gaming activities took them out of the social realm and into the criminal realm.
Booker reportedly charged players $10 to $20 for packs of 20 bingo cards, when most games only require one card. She also sold lottery-style tickets for which she kept most of the $5 fee.
Prosecution Ignored Social Gaming Exemptions
Hinds County District Attorney Jody Norris claimed that these actions showed that Booker was running a business rather than engaging in social gaming with a few friends.
During a plea hearing in April, Berry said Booker’s actions “rose to the level of a business,” as she used venues like her home and storage units, advertised her games, and collected fees from participants.
Booker’s defense team argued that the activities described by Berry actually support the notion that her client was engaged in social gaming.
According to the Jackson Free Press, Assistant Defense Attorney Angel Myers Robertson said the following during the hearing:
“You can’t charge someone for having too much fun. Just because a lot of people show up doesn’t mean it’s not social.”
Robertson pointed to several details that supported the idea that Booker’s gaming activities were social in nature:
- Booker played Bingo and sold lottery tickets to raise money for cancer research and to help a local family whose home had burned down.
- Most of the money she collected went to the causes she was supporting, with only compensation for expenses and a small amount for her time.
- Many different people participated in the games, including first responders and members of various churches.
- Booker even turned away one potential player, saying she couldn’t sell that woman any more bingo cards because she had spent enough money.
Prosecutors chose to ignore these mitigating circumstances, choosing instead to paint Booker as a nefarious schemer who targeted the weak and helpless by selling them lots of bingo cards.
Secrets to Winning Real Money on Free Slot GamesAs previously mentioned, the judge bought into this portrayal — but common sense did not.
Booker’s attorneys plan to appeal the decision, and they can point to numerous cases in which similar situations ended less catastrophically for defendants. Here are a couple examples:
Casino and Sports Betting Apps With No Deposit Requirements- In 2014, a man named John Barry Thompson was caught running an illegal bingo game out of a VFW post in Wiggins. Around 25 people were playing, with Thompson collecting $5 from each participant for what was supposed to be a single bingo card. Instead, several players later told authorities that Thompson gave them extra cards to sell and keep the proceeds. Thompson pled guilty to running an illegal gambling operation and was sentenced to two years of probation and a $600 fine. He was also ordered to perform 48 hours of community service and pay $124 in court costs and fees.
- In 2018 a man named James E. Smith was caught running an illegal bingo game out of a fire station in Luka. Around 30 people were playing, with Smith charging $10 for what should have been a single bingo card. Instead, several players later told authorities that Smith gave them extra cards to sell and keep the proceeds. Smith pled guilty to running an illegal gambling operation and was sentenced to two years of probation and a $600 fine. He was also ordered to perform 48 hours of community service and pay $124 in court costs and fees.
Thompson and Smith both operated larger-scale bingo games in public locations, charged exorbitant fees for bingo cards, and admitted to keeping some of the proceeds for themselves. And yet, a judge decided that throwing these men in prison was unnecessary.
Meanwhile, Katrina Booker — who faced comparable charges for running much smaller games in more private settings — is now serving a 10-year prison sentence.
Something is very wrong here.
Why in God’s Green Earth Is She in Prison?
Booker clearly does not belong in prison. Locking her in a cage with a multitude of hardened criminals for a decade will achieve nothing positive for herself, her family, her constituents, or Mississippi society as a whole.
The most generous interpretation of Judge Jeffrey Weills’ thinking is that he genuinely believes that Booker represents a unique threat to Mississippi’s social fabric, and that only a severe punishment can dissuade her from operating another game of bingo.
online casino vendorsA less generous interpretation of his thinking is that Weills wanted to make an example out of Booker. Maybe he’s heard about all the trouble Mississippi’s licensed gamblers have been getting into lately, and he wanted to remind everyone that gambling is illegal in the state unless it occurs inside a properly licensed facility.
This theory is bolstered by the fact that Weills specifically cited the recent Gulfside Casino Partnership bribery scandal in his remarks during the sentencing hearing.
Mutt & Jeff?
“I hope this sends a message to others who may be dealing with gambling, particularly in light of the Gulfside situation where gambling is a billion-dollar industry,” Weills said. “People are trying to get into on video poker machines, at veterans’ halls and Chuck E. Cheese’ arcades.”
Weills seems to believe that Booker is on par with former MGM Resorts executive Belzberg, and that her crimes deserve to be punished accordingly. That type of logic would be laughable if the stakes weren’t so high.
Booker allowed a few dozen adults to pay $5 or $10 to play a few games of bingo. Gary Stephenson stole $12m worth of seafood and forced his employees to commit theft as well.
Online Casinos That Pay Out The Fastest - Top Fast Withdrawal Casino SitesBelzberg authorized $80,000 in bribes to public officials in order to secure lucrative vendor contracts. All Booker did was make $5 or so on each bingo game she ran.
One man committed multiple felonies over the course of several years. The other spent the last four months in something approaching captivity for her actions.
This comparison isn’t meant to trivialize what Booker did. Running illegal gambling operations is wrong, and it can lead to other nefarious activities (although there’s no indication that Booker’s games devolved into something more sinister).
The problem is that Mississippi’s laws do not provide clear guidelines for what constitutes an illicit gambling establishment, and overzealous prosecutors are taking liberties with their interpretation of those rules.
Booker’s case shows that everyone from Veterans of Foreign Wars posts to church groups to youth organizations could be at risk of harsh penalties if they host raffles, silent auctions or other fundraisers that include any semblance of chance.
If a group goes above and beyond the call of duty in planning such an event, they could find themselves accused of running an illegal gambling operation.
State legislators need to take action to clarify Mississippi’s gambling statutes and provide more detailed parameters for what types of gaming activities are considered legal or illegal.
Until then, citizens should proceed with extreme caution when rolling the dice at your next company picnic or neighborhood block party. You wouldn’t want to end up wearing an ankle monitor while Gary Stephenson buys a yacht with the money you stole to pay your gambling debts.
Red Casino Review - Top Games & Deals for AustraliansDisclaimer
At GamblingSites.com we take sincere steps to ensure accuracy, decentiality, and fairness to all figures noted in our GPWA Gold Guide.
As previously noted, changing weather patterns can cause significant fluctuations in sea life, which could impact the profitability of a shrimp business. Additionally, other unforeseen circumstances not directly related to the weather could contribute to losses.
The information we possess regarding the defendant's income and assets comes primarily from the court documents and news reports surrounding the case. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, there is always the possibility of errors or omissions.
Furthermore, the purpose of including this information is to provide context and analyze the disparities between fines and sentences imposed on low-level offenders versus those at the top of the food chain. It is not intended to make light of any individual's legal troubles or personal hardships.
We understand that behind every case are real people with complex stories, and we aim to approach our coverage with compassion and sensitivity, while still providing accurate and informative content.
