Com. v. Macomber
| Decision Date | 02 December 1955 |
| Citation | 130 N.E.2d 545,333 Mass. 298 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH v. Everett J. MACOMBER, Junior. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
Maurice M. Lyons, Dist. Atty., Southern District of Bristol County, New Bedford, John W. McIntyre, Asst. Dist. Atty., Attleboro, for the Commonwealth.
John B. Nunes and Harold T. Gilley, New Bedford, for defendant.
Before QUA, C. J., and RONAN, WILKINS, SPALDING and COUNIHAN, JJ.
The defendant has been found guilty of promoting and setting up a lottery for money or other property of value in Fairhaven in violation of G.L. (Ter.Ed.) c. 271, § 7, the material part of which reads, 'Whoever sets up or promotes a lottery for money or other property of value, or by way of lottery disposes of any property of value, or under the pretext of a sale, gift or delivery of other property or of any right, privilege or thing whatever disposes of or offers or attempts to dispose of any property, with intent to make the disposal thereof dependent upon or connected with chance by lot * * * shall be punished by a fine * * *.' A jury found the defendant guilty and he was sentenced to pay a fine. The case comes here upon the defendant's exception to the denial of his motion for a directed verdict of not guilty. There was no error.
The alleged lottery was carried on through the instrumentality of a so-called 'pinball machine' which was licensed under G.L. (Ter.Ed.) c. 140, § 177A, inserted by St.1949, c. 361, the material parts of which, so far as this complaint is concerned, read:
There was evidence that on December 2, 1952, the defendant was employed in a store in Fairhaven which was owned by his brother. In the store there were two 'pinball' machines which were played by the insertion of a nickel for one game. The record does not disclose how but in some circumstances the player won what is called a 'free game.' On the day in question two State police officers, who were presumably in plain clothes, entered the store and after ordering coffee and sandwiches from the defendant one of them started to play the machine. He got nickels with which to play, in exchange for other money, from the defendant who took them from a cigar box under the counter. He played the machine for about half an hour and spent about $3.60 in nickels.
He won twenty-four 'free games' which showed up on the machine and then he 'played off' four of them leaving twenty 'free games' showing. He directed the attention of the defendant to these games and asked him for $1. The defendant gave him $1 and then signalled someone who pulled a lever on the machine which released the showing of the 'free games.' There was also evidence that the results of playing the pinball machine and the winning of 'free games' depended almost entirely on chance. The defendant denied that the officer asked him for $1 for the twenty 'free games.' He admitted that he gave him $1 because he thought he had made a mistake in making change for him earlier.
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Marshfield Family Skateland, Inc. v. Town of Marshfield
...as pinball machines, including 'free play' pinball machines, if duly licensed and if used for amusement only." Commonwealth v. Macomber, 333 Mass. 298, 301, 130 N.E.2d 545 (1955). Thus, one purpose of § 177A was clearly to remove coin-activated amusement devices from the ambit of the gambli......
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Commonwealth v. Margarita Stewart–johnson (and a Companion Case 1).
...for example, a pinball game with a cash prize has been viewed as a “lottery” within the meaning of the statute. Commonwealth v. Macomber, 333 Mass. 298, 130 N.E.2d 545 (1955). 6. The Supreme Court cited to a dictionary definition of “chance” as “something that befalls, as the result of unkn......
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G.J.T., Inc. v. Boston Licensing Bd.
...as pinball machines, including 'free play' pinball machines, if duly licensed and if used for amusement only." Commonwealth v. Macomber, 333 Mass. 298, 301, 130 N.E.2d 545 (1955). Before § 177A made legal the use and maintenance of these devices, they, of course, could not be offered legall......
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Com. v. Club Caravan, Inc.
...machines licensed under § 177A from G.L. c. 271, § 7. The net effect of the new law was considered in Commonwealth v. Macomber, 333 Mass. 298, 300-301, 130 N.E.2d 545 (1955), which viewed an automatic game machine, so long as it involved some element of skill and rewarded the winning player......