Moose Lodge in Mooresville facing sanction for illegal gambling

Published 12:00 am Friday, November 6, 2020

CHARLOTTE (AP) — A Moose Lodge could lose its liquor license and pay a fine after state agents discovered illegal pool gambling involving NASCAR races, authorities said.

The N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission reported the game was discovered at the Mooresville lodge on March 5, The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday. No one answered the phone at the lodge on Thursday.

A report by an Alcohol Law Enforcement agent said cigarette cartons were cut open, with handwritten names on one side and numbers on the other covered by a flap. An envelope attached to the carton contained $85, according to the report.

An employee told the agent that customers paid $5 to participate in the lottery, writing their name across from the covered numbers, the report said. After a race finished, the numbers were revealed and the money awarded, the report said. The employee told the agent similar games are played at the lodge awarding prizes like guns and money.

The lodge faces suspension for five days starting Dec. 4 unless it pays a $500 fine by Nov. 30, the report said. The offer isn’t final until it is ratified at the commission’s next meeting on Wednesday, said Jeff Strickland, commission spokesman.