“I’m glad the state finally came to its senses even if it took a little help from a lawsuit,” Gideon Coltof, president of Salem’s Bit Bar told 7 News.
Randazza Legal Group represents Bit Bar in that lawsuit, which challenges the Massachusetts governor’s decision to keep arcades closed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but allow casinos to reopen.
In the documents filed in a federal court, Randazza Legal Group attorney Marc Randazza argues that Governor Baker’s July 6 order treats one business different than another. Casinos are allowed to be open and operate, but video arcades that do not provide gambling services are not, thus violating Bit Bar’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
At a press conference on September 10, Governor Baker announced that he would soon allow arcades to reopen and on September 17, he officially gave them the green light to do so. Read more here.
