Casino Movement

 Behind a busy table in the back of the bar, posters track the progress of South Dakota’s high school basketball tournaments.
Above the table, both high school and college games flash on television screens. And the topic of conversation is, predictably, hoops — as well as gambling.
As visitors discuss the day’s games, they also talk money, curious about who is favored to win and by how many points. Bets and cash get sealed into white envelopes, which get tucked neatly into a small box on top of the table.
Nearby, a man writes in a small notebook, cash is openly exchanged, and talk continues about wagers and spreads.
Locals say gambling has been going on for years at The Circus Sports Bar and Grill — or at least it was until late Friday afternoon, when the police, after being questioned by the American News, shut the betting down.
“We went in there and had some folks place some bets,” Police Chief Don Lanpher Jr. said. “After they placed bets, uniforms went in and told them it’s illegal.”
Interviews were conducted, and names of some of the major players — the owner, two men sitting at the table and a few others — were taken, Lanpher said. The information now will be transferred to the Brown County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Lanpher said the owner, Lonnie Frost, was told the gambling had to stop. Frost could face possible charges as well as a revocation of his liquor license.
Betting on sporting events — high school, college, professional — is illegal in South Dakota. So is operating an establishment that allows wagering. Either infraction is a misdemeanor punishable by as much as 30 days in county jail and a $500 fine.
Officers will be making trips through the bar throughout the weekend to make sure The Circus is complying, Lanpher said. He said patrons were betting on both college and high school tournaments.
When reached Friday night, Frost said he had no comment. When he was asked if there have been bookies in The Circus, he replied, “not to my knowledge.”
While police responded to The Circus on Friday afternoon, there are rumors that there could be betting at other bars.
During six visits to The Circus since March 11, American News employees witnessed bets being taken and wagers being discussed but only in the past two days; the high school boys’ tournament started Thursday. Most patrons in the bar during the visits this week were males, many of them middle-age. Some customers confirmed that it is widely known that bets can be placed at the bar. Another basketball fan said it’s not difficult to learn what the point spreads on boys’ high school tournament games are in Aberdeen.
Kimberly Dorsett, Brown County state’s attorney, said Friday morning she had heard complaints in recent days about local betting on high school basketball. She said she shared the information with local law enforcement but had not heard back as of the time she left town Friday morning. Early Friday afternoon, Lanpher said his department had yet to hear about the complaints. He seemed surprised to hear about the gambling allegations. A few hours later, the department sent in undercover individuals.
Before Friday, Lanpher said there hadn’t been an investigation into sports gambling in his five-plus years in Aberdeen. A few longtime officers with the department said they didn’t recall any investigations, either.
Bob VanWinkle, a counselor with the Lutheran Social Services in Aberdeen, said it’s easy for bettors to find action in town anytime. But, he said, there’s a spike in betting for major sporting events — the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Super Bowl, World Series, major horse races, etc.
“All you have to do is ask a few questions, and people will hook you up with the bookies here in town,” he said.
VanWinkle did not cite any specific business but spoke about a generic way in which a bet might be placed locally.
Most betting is more localized and doesn’t involved bookies who take a cut of bets, he said. Instead, it’s among individuals, sometimes friends and sometimes people who have never met. A person who wants to place such a bet generally knows where to do so and might, for example, leave an envelope that includes money and point spread information. Sometimes, another person picks up that envelope. If not, the person gets his or her money back, he said.
Wayne Carney, executive director of the South Dakota High School Activities Association, said he didn’t know betting on high school games was happening in Aberdeen.
“It’s news to me,” he said. “But obviously I don’t live in Aberdeen. And I’m not in Aberdeen.”
SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director Jo Auch is in Aberdeen this weekend for the State B, and she wasn’t aware of the gambling either, Carney said. Carney is spending the weekend in Sioux Falls, where the State Class A boys’ tournament is taking place.
Carney doesn’t think that “betting on any kind of athletic contest makes any sense at all.”
But he’s heard of betting on South Dakota high school tournaments in years past.
“This is nothing new,” he said.
When Carney was coaching at Hamlin in the late 1970s and early ’80s, “it was no secret that there was a bar here in Sioux Falls” where there was “money passed on high school games.”
Some Hamlin fans told him bets were placed at the Sioux Falls bar during tournament games.
“I can’t confirm that. I never went there,” Carney said. “I’m just going by what I was told by some of our fans, and I think it was pretty well known if you were in town for the Class B tournament, that’s where all the action was.”
Carney has never heard of anyone betting on high school football playoffs.
“Football’s a whole different animal,” he said. “You come in for one game, you pack up and you go home.”
For basketball tournaments, people visit a city for three days. In football, fans often don’t stay overnight.
“Does that mean there isn’t any (gambling)?” he said. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of any. But then I’ve never heard of anybody betting on the B tournament in Aberdeen either till you just told me.”
Carney said if the betting is being done on high school games, “that obviously needs to be stopped. That’s not what we’re about.”
Less overt gambling — office basketball and football pools — is also illegal. While popular at many workplaces and among friends, Dorsett said complaints about such pools had not been filed with her office.
Tom Schmitt, chief deputy sheriff for Brown County, said the bulk of businesses in town likely have some type of NCAA bracket pool. It would be difficult and time-consuming to police them all, he said.
Some types of sports gambling offered by nonprofits are legal, Dorsett said. For example, local groups sell books for the NCAA Final Four and NFL season in which winners, determined by the number of points teams combine to score, receive cash. Such fundraisers are legal provided the proper application is sought and granted ahead of time, Dorsett said.
A variety of other types of gambling, ranging from video lottery to Deadwood gaming to betting on live horse racing, are legal in South Dakota.
Dorsett said there’s a misconception that betting on sports via the Internet is legal. It is not. South Dakota’s law can punish both people who place bets over the Internet and those who operate such Web sites, she said. The crime is a felony punishable by as much two years in state prison and a $4,000 fine. A subsequent offense is punishable by as much as five years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.

American News reporters Emily Arthur-Richardt, Jeff Bahr, Elissa Dickey, Scott Waltman and other staffers contributed to this report.

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