Grand opening tonight, at 1190 Edgewood Avenue on the First Block is a gaming room. I’m not sure yet what all of this means but I do not think this will be well received by the community. This gaming room is comprised of 60 automated machines, and is not to my knowledge affiliated with the proposed billiard parlor located two doors down at the old Woods Pharmacy. A dispute arose with the billiard parlor when people thought they would have gaming machines there. Instead one opens just doors away. I went to talk to the owner tonight but they were busy trying to get the place open. I did instead talk with a manager and employee to try to get some details. The following is what I learned:
- There are sixty total automated machines similar to slots.
- The machines are either a penny or nickel and reward Visa debit cards for redemption if you win money.
- They will also have special games that offer rewards of gift certificates to local merchants in the area.
- They will be serving free food or non-alcoholic beverages while you play.
- The Alibi bar next door will allow customers of the gaming room of legal age to buy liquor or beer, leave, and bring it back to the gaming room for consumption.
This is probably what had Suzanne Jenkins in an uproar about these gaming machine establishments. I was under the impression that her riff had to do with the hypothetical use of the billiard parlor but low and behold, it is here in Murray Hill.
I should have asked more questions…will there be smoking inside (the place smelled like a mixture of wet paint and cigarette smoke), what will the hours be, what was the previous use of this building, what kind of permits did the contractor pull (an electrical permit for a new service for all I can tell, which may be all that is required). I was just caught up in the fact that there is this new gaming room opening up right on the First Block. It smells fishy to me and if you’re familiar with my previous posts on the matter I may be eating my words. It seems like, for all of this time the attention was directed toward the use of the old pharmacy, but instead there is a gaming room opening up two doors down to no attention. Again, time will tell, but if anyone has any additional input please fell free to contact The Hill.
