State v. Lake Geneva Lanes, Inc.

The question for our determination is whether a pinball machine which provides free plays as a reward to a player as a result of luck (plus some skill) is a “gambling machine” under sec. 945.01 (3), Stats.

The trial judge concluded that it was a gambling machine, and we agree. The legislative pronouncements together with the rulings heretofore made by this court make it clear that the reward of a free game is “something of value,” as a matter of law. State v. Jaskie (1944), 245 Wis. 398, 14 N. W. (2d) 148; Milwaukee v. Burns (1937), 225 Wis. 296, 274 N. W. 273; Milwaukee v. Johnson (1927), 192…