Dotty's is a chain of

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

parlors with about 175 locations in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and another 150 locations planned in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. The

business model A business model describes how a Company, business organization creates, delivers, and captures value creation, value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-pub ...

is controversial, with sites "offering minimal food and beverage choices with a heavy focus on gambling."Howard Stutz for the Las Vegas Review-Journal July 26, 2014
Dotty’s taverns are simply complex
/ref> The chain has a clean, well-lit atmosphere meant to invoke "your grandmother's kitchen" and is demographically targeted towards women aged 35 and older.

History

Oregon

The chain was founded in Oregon in 1991 by

Craig Estey Richard Craig Estey is an American businessman, political donor and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Nevada Restaurant Services, Inc. parent company to Dotty's, Bourbon Street, Hoover Dam Lodge, Laughlin River Lodge, La Villita, ...

, whose family owned a major

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or payment is otherwise m ...

and food distribution service. The

Oregon Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower chamber: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the H ...

that year had authorized

video poker Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine. History Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like mo ...

machines to be installed in bars and taverns, under the aegis of the

Oregon Lottery The Oregon Lottery is run by the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. History The Oregon Lottery was authorized by “Oregon Ballot Measure 5” which was passed by voters in the 1984 general election. The measure amended the Oregon Cons ...

. The first poker machines began operation in March 1992, and by the next month, five Dotty's delis were open. The

Oregon State Police The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a Police, law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OSP enforces all of Oregon's criminal laws and assists local law enforcement agencies. Casey Codding has served as Superintendent (police), Superi ...

, responsible for background checks on lottery retailers, objected to licensing the delis, arguing that they were not the type of business intended by the Legislature to have video poker, but its concerns were overruled by the lottery's director, Jim Davey. In late 1993, when Dotty's sought to open its sixteenth outlet, Davey's successor, Dan Simmons, sought an opinion from the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

as to whether he could deny the license on the basis that Dotty's was primarily a gambling business. A rule was instituted requiring a business to be at least a year old before becoming a lottery retailer, but Estey sued the state and was granted a waiver from this new requirement. Another rule was enacted requiring retailers to earn no more than two-thirds of their total income from the lottery, and a 1997 audit found that 21 of the 22 Dotty's outlets were in violation. As of 2005, Dotty's had 26 locations in Oregon, and earned $6.4 million in lottery commissions. In 2006, Estey came under investigation by the Lottery for alleged incidents of domestic violence against his wife, and for lying to Nevada gaming regulators about the incidents.Will Evans for National Public Radio and The Center for Investigative Reporting. Oct 31, 200
RightChange gets money from controversial businessman
/ref> Faced with the threat of losing Dotty's lottery retailer contract,Letter from Oregon Lottery to R Craig Estey, December 13, 2006
, linked fro

an
Mirrored article at CIR website
Estey was forced to sell Dotty's locations in Oregon to a group of investors from South Dakota, including Dan Fischer and Marwin Hofer, at a sales price reportedly higher than $15 million. The new owners took possession in March 2007, with the Lottery itself agreeing to operate the stores on a temporary basis.

Nevada

Estey made his move into Nevada in 1995, gaining approval from the

Nevada Gaming Commission The Nevada Gaming Commission is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of casinos throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. In 1959, the Nevada Gaming Commission ("Commission") was created by the ...

for six Dotty's bars built along the model of the Oregon chain. By 2002, there were eight Dotty's locations in the state, and the chain was pushing into Northern Nevada with three planned locations in Reno and Carson City. Opposition to Dotty's arose in 2010, led by

locals casino A locals casino is a casino designed primarily to attract residents of the area in which it was built rather than Tourism, tourists or vacationers. The term is most commonly associated with casinos in Nevada, United States, to distinguish them fro ...

operators

Station Casinos Station Casinos, LLC is an American hotel and casino company based in Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin South, Nevada, and founded by Frank Fertitta Jr. Station Casinos, along with Affinity Gaming, Boyd Gaming and Golden Entertainment, dominate th ...

and

Boyd Gaming Boyd Gaming Corporation is an American gaming and hospitality company based in Paradise, Nevada. The company continues to be run by founder Sam Boyd's family under the management of Sam's granddaughter, Marianne Boyd-Johnson, who currently serv ...

. Most Dotty's locations operate under a "restricted" gaming license, allowing up to 15 slot machines in a business such as a bar or

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...

, where gaming is "incidental" to the main business. Opponents argued that Dotty's violated this restriction, with gaming accounting for more than 90 percent of revenue at some locations. Dotty's opponents were successful in April 2011, convincing the

Clark County Commission The Clark County Commission is the governmental organization that governs and runs Clark County, Nevada, providing services to the unincorporated areas. Its offices are located at the Clark County Government Center in Downtown Las Vegas. Compos ...

to adopt rules that taverns with slot machines must have at least 2,500 square feet of space, at least eight bar-top slot machines, and a kitchen operating at least 12 hours a day, none of which would be satisfied by the typical Dotty's location. Similar restrictions were adopted months later at a statewide level by the Gaming Commission. By mid-2013, Dotty's was close to opening new locations with bar and restaurant facilities to comply with the stricter regulations, with the total number of locations in Nevada set to grow to 97. In August 2013, Dotty's agreed to acquire the Hacienda Hotel and Casino near

Boulder City Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon. Boulder City is one of o ...

, its first full hotel-casino. In July 2014, Dotty's agreed to buy the River Palms in

Laughlin Laughlin may refer to: Places *Laughlin, Nevada *Laughlin Air Force Base *Laughlin (Nevada gaming area) Other uses *Laughlin (surname) *Laughlin City, a fictional town in Alberta, Canada in the 2000 movie ''X-Men'' *Laughlin wavefunction, an ansa ...

Illinois

Illinois began video gambling operations in October 2012, with bars allowed to install as many as five slot machines. Dotty's soon made its move into the state, announcing plans to open 150 Dotty's Cafes, mostly in strip malls in the suburbs of Chicago.

References

External links

* (Nevada) * {{Official website, http://www.dottyscafe.com/, Dotty's Cafe (Illinois) 1991 establishments in Oregon Casinos in Illinois Companies based in Chicago Gambling companies of the United States Hospitality companies of the United States Restaurants in Oregon