- Skill Slot Machines In Virginia Tech
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- Skill Slot Machines In Virginia Woolf
- Skill Slot Machines In Virginia Lottery
Dave Willis says he would've been forced to close down his Norfolk bar, if it wasn't for the Queen of Virginia 'skill' games.
But now, with state lawmakers close to banning the games, he and thousands of other Virginia businesses will likely have to get rid of them.
Though the historical horse racing machines operated by Colonial Downs also resemble slot machines, they're regulated by the Virginia Racing Commission. Unlike the skill games, the Colonial.
Willis installed the games — similar, at least on their surface, to slot machines — at the Haven Inn on South Military Highway two years ago, because business wasn't doing well, and he had nothing to lose.
(WAVY) — The odds don't seem to be in the favor of slot machine-style 'skills games' you see in convenience stores in Virginia. Wednesday afternoon, Virginia's House of Delegates. The machines look, sound, feel, and act like slot machines, which are against the law in Virginia. But these devices are called 'skill machines,' on grounds that they're not based entirely on chance. For the present moment, skill machines are 100 percent legal, and they're popping up all over the commonwealth. Ban on slot-machine-like 'games of skill' in Virginia would cost jobs, small business owners say Dave Willis says he would've been forced to close down his Norfolk bar, if it wasn't for the.
Southern Amusement, the company that operates these games and others like pool tables and jukeboxes, told Willis the Alcohol Beverage Control Authority had approved the Queen games at ABC-licensed establishments.
So Willis started with two machines. It was tough for the first six or eight weeks, having to put his own money down for payouts. But then the customers started noticing. People he'd never seen before would come in just to play the games, and stay for a beer or dinner.
Willis added two more machines.
'I made more last year off just the machines than I made in five years as just a beer bar,' he said over the phone Wednesday. He was able to raise employee wages by 25%. He was able to get new furniture, to redo the bartop and the worn-out bar stools.
Other Hampton Roads business owners have similar experiences. Melody Weekly, who owns Mel's Place in Virginia Beach, said she's been able to upgrade the bathrooms, countertops and furniture since she added seven machines. She went from one bartender to two, and gave the cook more hours.
Michael Arrigo has also been able to add staff members and increase wages at Long Shots Billiards and Darts in Chesapeake. With the revenue from six machines — as well as the increased business that comes with it — he's been able to give higher payouts during his billiard and dart tournaments.
Courtney Hyatt, owner of Just One More Bar and Grill in Virginia Beach, said she's been able to offer one of her employees a dental plan thanks to extra cash she's brought in from her four games.
But the General Assembly voted this month to label them as 'illegal gambling' and ban them rather than tax and regulate them, as Southern Amusement, Queen of Virginia and the small business owners wanted. The Senate and the House still have to work out small differences in the bills' language, but it'll soon head to Gov. Ralph Northam's desk, and he hasn't taken a position on the issue.
A group of the business owners protested outside the Capitol in Richmond on Thursday urging lawmakers to support games of skill.
'Save our jobs!' people shouted as lawmakers walked by. 'Support games of skill!'
Queen of Virginia doesn't like to be lumped in with other electronic games it says aren't games of skill, aren't self regulating like Queen and didn't ask permission to operate their games in Virginia.
Queen says its games require an action — that's the 'skill' part — like pushing a button to match some shapes in order to win. The Virginia ABC decided Queen of Virginia is predominantly based on skill, not chance, and therefore is legal.
The lawmakers who favored the ban say the machines take revenue away from Lottery sales, which are supposed to go to schools. The money was originally meant to be a supplement to what the state was already set aside for schools, but it has since been used as a replacement to the dried-up state funds.
Lottery sales in Virginia have dropped 11.3% over the past year, according to the Virginia Lottery Board, and many attribute that drop to the increase in the games of skill appearing in bars, truck stops and convenience stores around the state. Legislative fiscal analysts have said lottery profits would increase by about $40 million each year starting in 2021 if the ban takes effect.
The machines would also be expensive to regulate. The state's audit commission found that in Georgia, it costs about $15 million annually to regulate and tax the games.
Lawmakers also say they don't want these slot-like machines proliferating and increasing the risk of problem gambling. And they're upset Queen didn't come to the General Assembly first for approval, but to the ABC Authority and later, to local commonwealth's attorneys.
'When you think about the future of Virginia, do we really want mini-casinos on every street corner and every bar in Virginia?' said Del. David Bulova, a Democrat from Fairfax who sponsored the bill that bans the machines.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission estimated between 4,500 and 9,200 devices are now installed in Virginia and could bring in $83 million to $468 million a year in revenue after accounting for winnings to players if taxed. In Georgia, where 23,000 such machines are regulated, the estimated revenue in 2019 was around $800 million.
'We don't have table games and lights and glitter and all the stuff that casinos have. We have the back of a smoky bar.'
Michael Arrigo, owner of Longboard Billiards and Darts
The ban comes as lawmakers are formulating a plan to bring five casinos to the state and legalize sports betting, which the legislative commission estimates would bring in a combined $362 million a year from taxes. They also voted to expand lottery sales online.
'Casinos have been studied for years. There's been careful planning, they are being regulated and taxed. And none of that applies to (games of skill),' said Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, before the Senate voted to ban the machines on Feb. 11.
But the group against the ban argues the General Assembly is favoring casinos — whose investors come with lots of out-of-state money — over Virginia small businesses struggling to get by.
'We don't have table games and lights and glitter and all the stuff that casinos have,' said Arrigo from Long Shots. 'We have the back of a smoky bar.'
Truck stop owners who have also benefited from the games were slated to meet with Northam on Thursday afternoon to discuss the ban, according to Jeanna Bouzek, Queen of Virginia's general manager.
'He has been carefully monitoring this issue and will thoroughly review this legislation when it reaches his desk,' Northam's spokeswoman said.
Convenience store, bar and restaurant owners are also scheduled to hold a rally protesting the ban at Azalea Inn on Little Creek Road in Norfolk at 1 p.m. Monday.
Marie Albiges, 757-247-4962, malbiges@dailypress.com
———
©2020 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
Visit The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) at pilotonline.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Despite Virginia's strict gambling laws, restaurants, bars, and gas stations are adding so-called 'skill machines' to draw people who wish to wager money in an attempt to win big. Because the results aren't left entirely up to chance, these slot-style machines lie in a gambling gray area.
It sits a few blocks from the bustle of Carytown, under a deep blue awning and the gaze of its mascot — a sunburnt moose holding up a pint with a cocked, toothy smile.
When City Beach is nearly empty, the bar is vast and echoey. It appears to defy physics, a deeper space than the building should be able to handle when viewed from the street.
Past the smokers planted on the front patio and just through the doors stands a little room on the left. When occupied, the room can be loud, with an onslaught of clashing, out-of-time electronic sound effects from four bulky machines. Hands come down hard on buttons, and people yell to each other in frustration — or joy when they win a jackpot.
From the spinning wheels and the colorful cartoon images on the screens to the hands pulling out wallets and feeding in 10s, 20s or even $50 bills, the room looks like a miniature Las Vegas.
The machines look, sound, feel, and act like slot machines, which are against the law in Virginia. But these devices are called 'skill machines,' on grounds that they're not based entirely on chance. For the present moment, skill machines are 100 percent legal, and they're popping up all over the commonwealth.
Besides the touch screen, each skill machine boasts two big buttons — easy to press, easy to slam: 'Play' and 'Ticket.' These let the player spin or cash out.
In the little room, a man named Pierce sat slightly slouched back at the closest machine to the doorway. He declined to give his last name. Batting his hand at the play button as he spoke, his attention stayed trained on the game.
Gambling isn't new to Pierce. His mother is 'a slot grinder,' and his stepfather has skill machines in the Pennsylvania bars he operates.
'So I've been playing these for years,' Pierce said.
At this point, Pierce's machine said he was at $95. He had put in $45 to begin and had been as high as $160, but the 'Ticket' button sat unpressed as Pierce kept testing his luck — or skill, depending on your point of view.
He was playing a game called 'Pirates' — his favorite on this machine. Different games have different themes, sounds and cartoon garnishes, but in essence, they all are similar: They are all variations on tic-tac-toe, meaning a certain image has to connect across all three rows, for the player to win.
Bets range from 40 cents to $4. The higher the bet, the higher the payout.
Players are presented a set of three-by-three rows and the goal of making a pattern like tic-tac-toe. Each play costs a bet and spins the rows. The hope is to line up at least two of the same images because once the spin is over, you can place a 'wild' anywhere on the board to finish the row.
'So here's another thing about this game,' Pierce said. 'You can hit ‘next puzzle' and see if the next one's a winner or not.'
The 'next puzzle' option feels like a cheat code to some players, and yes, it's as straightforward as it sounds. At any point, a player can see the results of their next spin, whether they'll win thousands of dollars or absolutely nothing. Knowing the next puzzle can help players make their decision: pull out or keep playing. But ultimately, the 'next puzzle' is only second in an endless line of puzzles, and many players are keenly aware of this caveat. So they keep betting to see what might be around the corner.
This extra piece of information is the argument for why the machines should be called skill machines and not slot machines. It's why people like Pierce can step into a bar any night of the week and risk some of their cash in hopes of hitting it big.
Short of hitting a jackpot by lining up the three cartoon tiles assigned to the most money, players tend to hope for a 'bonus' win. These are specialty tiles that often specifically say 'bonus' on them. They can give the player extra spins or queue a simple minigame, such as opening virtual suitcases or spinning a wheel.
Players' reactions reveal that these types of wins are exciting, and it's easy to see why. They are much more attainable than the standard jackpot win, but they can still draw some serious money.
After a few minutes, Pierce hit a bonus, giving him 10 extra automatic spins.
'Oh, look!' he yelled, jumping out of his seat to call down the hallway. 'Let's go, we got the big bonus!'
Skill Slot Machines In Virginia Tech
The rows started spinning rapidly, possessed, and people in the room gathered to watch over Pierce's shoulder.
Pierce excitedly circled the ice in his drink and yelled a few more times, but as the spins started to run out, he calmed down.
'Ah, it's not going to be anything crazy, man,' he said, with a tinge of disappointment.
The bonus spins depleted, numbers flew to the center of the screen to calculate the winnings: $50, putting Pierce's overall money in play at $136 and some change.
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'I put $45 in. If I cash out now I'm up $90,' he estimated.
Pierce tapped around on the screen, checking the next puzzle for the bet amount he was playing on. Nothing. Eventually, he pressed the 'Ticket' button, and the machine discharged a warm, freshly printed receipt, which Pierce took to the bar and traded for cash.
Soon, somebody else sat at Pierce's machine. Sure, Pierce had made money, but he hadn't hit the jackpot. The amount, thousands of dollars, taunted from the screen. It was still anybody's game.
The legal and corporate perspective
Currently, gambling is restricted in Virginia. State law allows betting on horse races at licensed locations, and charitable gaming, such as a limited number of bingo games and raffles that benefit nonprofit groups.
During the General Assembly's 2019 session, legislators introduced bills to legalize casinos, authorize sports betting and expand charitable gaming. Most of those proposals failed.
However, skill machines fall into a legal loophole, allowing bars and other establishments to install — and profit from — the devices.
Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment, the company that makes the skill machines used in Virginia, says its devices aren't illegal because there's an element of skill.
'Our machines' software take out that element of chance and add skill because, based on the player, they can actually win more money than they put in every single time they play our game,' said Kevin Anderson, the director of compliance for Queen of Virginia Skill and a former enforcement agent for the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.
The software originated in Pennsylvania, where it went through several court systems, Anderson said. He said Queen of Virginia Skill machines are the only ones checked by a government entity.
Attorney General Mark Herring has not filed a complaint against the skill machines. A spokesperson for his office said Herring will let each jurisdiction decide whether to allow the machines.
'We have our games in almost all jurisdictions in Virginia,' Anderson said. He said the machines are located only in ABC-licensed facilities. That would include bars, restaurants that serve alcohol and gas stations that sell beer and wine.
Anderson said that Queen of Virginia Skill asked the ABC to examine its machines and software and that the agency gave a favorable review.
Officials at the Virginia Lottery also weighed in, saying they are not worried about skill machines. However, when asked whether the machines are legal, they declined to comment.
'We were watching closely as they appeared across the state,' said Virginia Lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Mullen. 'As of now, we have no concerns.'
This spring, the Virginia Lottery is adding a feature to its app to allow consumers to play lottery-type games through their phones at any retail location in which they connect through a Bluetooth connection, Mullen said.
Trent Hazelwood, a server at New York Deli and a casual skill machine player, said he believes the new lottery app was designed to compete with the skill machines; however, the Virginia Lottery said there is no correlation.
For restaurants and bars, skill machines can provide a new revenue stream. The hosting businesses keep 40 percent of the money that the machines take in. Thirty percent of the revenue goes to the companies in charge of distributing and maintaining the machines, and 30 percent goes to Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment.
The personal perspective on skill machines
According to Brice Slack, general manager at Buffalo Wild Wings on West Broad Street in Henrico County, a community has emerged among skill machine players who move from place to place, hoping to hit a jackpot.
'There's regulars amongst the Queen machine community that kind of hop from establishment to establishment,' Slack said.
Slack doesn't believe players will have much luck trying to outsmart the machines.
'It is just a series of spins,' Slack said.
In theory, industry officials say, skillful players should be able to win on any machine equally. It's the distinction that makes the machines legal and popular.
'Players can WIN every time based on skill & not chance,' Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment says in a bulleted entry on its website.
But some people who work with the machines daily aren't convinced.
'Is it really skill? Not really, no. It's still chance either way,' said Miles Murdock, a server at New York Deli.
Working just a few feet from his restaurant's machines, Murdock said he is a frequent player. He even remembers the day they appeared at his workplace. He said his boss framed them as a surprise, a gift of sorts to the employees.
Unlike some of his customers, Murdock plays with extra money — his tips — and he views the skill machines as entertainment. The machines aren't paying his rent or buying his groceries. They're just for fun, he said.
'We get a lot of people in here who see it as pretty much a revenue source,' Murdock said. 'I'd rather just take the money I earn and count on a sure thing.'
But then again, Murdock said some people are much luckier than he is. They come in, win big and often, and have their own little rituals to keep the money flowing, he said.
Skill Slot Machines In Virginia Woolf
Hazelwood, Murdock's coworker, offered an example.
Marie Albiges, 757-247-4962, malbiges@dailypress.com
———
©2020 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
Visit The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) at pilotonline.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Despite Virginia's strict gambling laws, restaurants, bars, and gas stations are adding so-called 'skill machines' to draw people who wish to wager money in an attempt to win big. Because the results aren't left entirely up to chance, these slot-style machines lie in a gambling gray area.
It sits a few blocks from the bustle of Carytown, under a deep blue awning and the gaze of its mascot — a sunburnt moose holding up a pint with a cocked, toothy smile.
When City Beach is nearly empty, the bar is vast and echoey. It appears to defy physics, a deeper space than the building should be able to handle when viewed from the street.
Past the smokers planted on the front patio and just through the doors stands a little room on the left. When occupied, the room can be loud, with an onslaught of clashing, out-of-time electronic sound effects from four bulky machines. Hands come down hard on buttons, and people yell to each other in frustration — or joy when they win a jackpot.
From the spinning wheels and the colorful cartoon images on the screens to the hands pulling out wallets and feeding in 10s, 20s or even $50 bills, the room looks like a miniature Las Vegas.
The machines look, sound, feel, and act like slot machines, which are against the law in Virginia. But these devices are called 'skill machines,' on grounds that they're not based entirely on chance. For the present moment, skill machines are 100 percent legal, and they're popping up all over the commonwealth.
Besides the touch screen, each skill machine boasts two big buttons — easy to press, easy to slam: 'Play' and 'Ticket.' These let the player spin or cash out.
In the little room, a man named Pierce sat slightly slouched back at the closest machine to the doorway. He declined to give his last name. Batting his hand at the play button as he spoke, his attention stayed trained on the game.
Gambling isn't new to Pierce. His mother is 'a slot grinder,' and his stepfather has skill machines in the Pennsylvania bars he operates.
'So I've been playing these for years,' Pierce said.
At this point, Pierce's machine said he was at $95. He had put in $45 to begin and had been as high as $160, but the 'Ticket' button sat unpressed as Pierce kept testing his luck — or skill, depending on your point of view.
He was playing a game called 'Pirates' — his favorite on this machine. Different games have different themes, sounds and cartoon garnishes, but in essence, they all are similar: They are all variations on tic-tac-toe, meaning a certain image has to connect across all three rows, for the player to win.
Bets range from 40 cents to $4. The higher the bet, the higher the payout.
Players are presented a set of three-by-three rows and the goal of making a pattern like tic-tac-toe. Each play costs a bet and spins the rows. The hope is to line up at least two of the same images because once the spin is over, you can place a 'wild' anywhere on the board to finish the row.
'So here's another thing about this game,' Pierce said. 'You can hit ‘next puzzle' and see if the next one's a winner or not.'
The 'next puzzle' option feels like a cheat code to some players, and yes, it's as straightforward as it sounds. At any point, a player can see the results of their next spin, whether they'll win thousands of dollars or absolutely nothing. Knowing the next puzzle can help players make their decision: pull out or keep playing. But ultimately, the 'next puzzle' is only second in an endless line of puzzles, and many players are keenly aware of this caveat. So they keep betting to see what might be around the corner.
This extra piece of information is the argument for why the machines should be called skill machines and not slot machines. It's why people like Pierce can step into a bar any night of the week and risk some of their cash in hopes of hitting it big.
Short of hitting a jackpot by lining up the three cartoon tiles assigned to the most money, players tend to hope for a 'bonus' win. These are specialty tiles that often specifically say 'bonus' on them. They can give the player extra spins or queue a simple minigame, such as opening virtual suitcases or spinning a wheel.
Players' reactions reveal that these types of wins are exciting, and it's easy to see why. They are much more attainable than the standard jackpot win, but they can still draw some serious money.
After a few minutes, Pierce hit a bonus, giving him 10 extra automatic spins.
'Oh, look!' he yelled, jumping out of his seat to call down the hallway. 'Let's go, we got the big bonus!'
Skill Slot Machines In Virginia Tech
The rows started spinning rapidly, possessed, and people in the room gathered to watch over Pierce's shoulder.
Pierce excitedly circled the ice in his drink and yelled a few more times, but as the spins started to run out, he calmed down.
'Ah, it's not going to be anything crazy, man,' he said, with a tinge of disappointment.
The bonus spins depleted, numbers flew to the center of the screen to calculate the winnings: $50, putting Pierce's overall money in play at $136 and some change.
Skill Slot Machines In Virginia Beach
'I put $45 in. If I cash out now I'm up $90,' he estimated.
Pierce tapped around on the screen, checking the next puzzle for the bet amount he was playing on. Nothing. Eventually, he pressed the 'Ticket' button, and the machine discharged a warm, freshly printed receipt, which Pierce took to the bar and traded for cash.
Soon, somebody else sat at Pierce's machine. Sure, Pierce had made money, but he hadn't hit the jackpot. The amount, thousands of dollars, taunted from the screen. It was still anybody's game.
The legal and corporate perspective
Currently, gambling is restricted in Virginia. State law allows betting on horse races at licensed locations, and charitable gaming, such as a limited number of bingo games and raffles that benefit nonprofit groups.
During the General Assembly's 2019 session, legislators introduced bills to legalize casinos, authorize sports betting and expand charitable gaming. Most of those proposals failed.
However, skill machines fall into a legal loophole, allowing bars and other establishments to install — and profit from — the devices.
Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment, the company that makes the skill machines used in Virginia, says its devices aren't illegal because there's an element of skill.
'Our machines' software take out that element of chance and add skill because, based on the player, they can actually win more money than they put in every single time they play our game,' said Kevin Anderson, the director of compliance for Queen of Virginia Skill and a former enforcement agent for the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.
The software originated in Pennsylvania, where it went through several court systems, Anderson said. He said Queen of Virginia Skill machines are the only ones checked by a government entity.
Attorney General Mark Herring has not filed a complaint against the skill machines. A spokesperson for his office said Herring will let each jurisdiction decide whether to allow the machines.
'We have our games in almost all jurisdictions in Virginia,' Anderson said. He said the machines are located only in ABC-licensed facilities. That would include bars, restaurants that serve alcohol and gas stations that sell beer and wine.
Anderson said that Queen of Virginia Skill asked the ABC to examine its machines and software and that the agency gave a favorable review.
Officials at the Virginia Lottery also weighed in, saying they are not worried about skill machines. However, when asked whether the machines are legal, they declined to comment.
'We were watching closely as they appeared across the state,' said Virginia Lottery spokeswoman Jennifer Mullen. 'As of now, we have no concerns.'
This spring, the Virginia Lottery is adding a feature to its app to allow consumers to play lottery-type games through their phones at any retail location in which they connect through a Bluetooth connection, Mullen said.
Trent Hazelwood, a server at New York Deli and a casual skill machine player, said he believes the new lottery app was designed to compete with the skill machines; however, the Virginia Lottery said there is no correlation.
For restaurants and bars, skill machines can provide a new revenue stream. The hosting businesses keep 40 percent of the money that the machines take in. Thirty percent of the revenue goes to the companies in charge of distributing and maintaining the machines, and 30 percent goes to Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment.
The personal perspective on skill machines
According to Brice Slack, general manager at Buffalo Wild Wings on West Broad Street in Henrico County, a community has emerged among skill machine players who move from place to place, hoping to hit a jackpot.
'There's regulars amongst the Queen machine community that kind of hop from establishment to establishment,' Slack said.
Slack doesn't believe players will have much luck trying to outsmart the machines.
'It is just a series of spins,' Slack said.
In theory, industry officials say, skillful players should be able to win on any machine equally. It's the distinction that makes the machines legal and popular.
'Players can WIN every time based on skill & not chance,' Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment says in a bulleted entry on its website.
But some people who work with the machines daily aren't convinced.
'Is it really skill? Not really, no. It's still chance either way,' said Miles Murdock, a server at New York Deli.
Working just a few feet from his restaurant's machines, Murdock said he is a frequent player. He even remembers the day they appeared at his workplace. He said his boss framed them as a surprise, a gift of sorts to the employees.
Unlike some of his customers, Murdock plays with extra money — his tips — and he views the skill machines as entertainment. The machines aren't paying his rent or buying his groceries. They're just for fun, he said.
'We get a lot of people in here who see it as pretty much a revenue source,' Murdock said. 'I'd rather just take the money I earn and count on a sure thing.'
But then again, Murdock said some people are much luckier than he is. They come in, win big and often, and have their own little rituals to keep the money flowing, he said.
Skill Slot Machines In Virginia Woolf
Hazelwood, Murdock's coworker, offered an example.
I'm just going to tell you about this one guy,' Hazelwood said. 'He pushes the buttons a certain way. He taps the screen a certain way. And he is convinced that, like, the way that he taps the button or presses the screen means that it will trigger something.
At City Beach, Pierce, too, has a ritual: He said he won't put even dollar amounts into the machines. If he wants to risk about $100, he said, 'I'll put in $105.'
The community of skill machine players can take the game very seriously. At first, some businesses worried about hosting such activities in establishments that serve alcohol. But local businesses have had few problems with skill machine patrons.
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'Drunk people and gambling, there's no way that this can end well,' Murdock remembered thinking when the machines arrived at New York Deli. 'However, I was proven wrong.'
Murdock said he occasionally finds parents letting their kids play, which he immediately prohibits — 'Participants must be at least 18,' notes a bold, red screensaver as customers sit down to play. Once, a patron told Murdock the machine ate their money.
'Beyond that, we've had no problems,' he said. 'No disruptive customers.'
Hazelwood described the machines as a 'loophole in the law,' and Slack called them 'a gray area.'
Virginia has shown reluctance to fully embrace gambling. But at least for these skill machines, those populating bars and restaurants — the servers, managers and people sitting down to play with a drink in their hands — are showing less reluctance.
Care to try your luck? Find a map of skill machine locations in Richmond at http://bit.ly/skill-mach-map
By Benjamin West and Emily Holter, Capital News Service. Top photo: Queen of Virginia skill machines at New York Deli in Carytown, by Benjamin West
