Smell A Rat? $5M Lawsuit Claims Kids Gambling At Chuck E. Cheese

May 18, 2011 8:53 AM

(credit: Mark Schiefelbein/Getty Images)

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SAN DIEGO (CBS) — It’s the place “where a kid be can a kid” — even if, for one mom, that means preparing your kid for Las Vegas.

A Southland mother is suing the parent company of the Chuck E. Cheese family restaurant chain for what she says are gambling machines posing as kids’ games.

Debbie Keller, a mother of two from San Diego, is taking CEC Entertainment Inc. to court over gaming devices that are operated by inserting tokens, which can be purchased for 25 cents each. When the games are finished, they dispense tickets that can be redeemed for prizes.

In the class action suit filed in U.S. District Court in late March, Keller cited the chain’s kiddie slot machines and games with a roulette-style wheel as incompatible with California gaming laws.

Legal analyst Royal Oakes told KFWB 980′s Maggie McKay that despite the seemingly outrageous claims, the lawsuit may actually move forward in today’s overly-protective political climate.

“We’re kind of in a nanny state, fast food restaurant bans in some towns, and generally we’re more willing to be strict about kids and protecting them than we are about adults,” Oakes said. “So I can see some people getting behind this.”

The lawsuit, which seeks $5 million in damages, is still awaiting a ruling on a motion by CEC Entertainment attorneys to dismiss the case.

Smell A Rat? $5M Lawsuit Claims Kids Gambling At Chuck E. Cheese

Den

Times are bad. Now this Idiot is finding a way to make money. This will be thrown out in court and her with it. It’s idiots like this that ties up the court system when there are important cases to be tried.

Richard D.

For some reason this reminds me of the burglar who sued the homeowner when the burglar broke his leg coming in through a window of the person’s home and slipped on a toy. By the way this in no way reflects my personal opinion and I have no windows of my own. LOL

J. dillard

How about those parents who gave their kids the money? Obviously they cannot “gamble” with out money! These idiots, are they going to sue the County Fair or the Fiesta Fair done annually by most cities.
Jim Gates

lady is a complete idiot its games for kids give me a break
John Kells

Really….. people have extra time on their hands to do sue like this. There aren’t any other problems in the country? Let’s just lash out at a place where parents and their kids can get together and spend time with one another in a safe place.
http://www.truckingboards.com/forum/washington-dc-holy-land/12902-only-america.html#post126830 Only in America !

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TT

Does our hard earned tax money really need to be spent on this ? This is frivilous…
Ralph

This must be a really bad case, or people like the ACLU would be hopping on this like it was gold. and if this was a golden case about a poor child and his poor mother that were damaged by some big overstuffed mouse, where’s Gloria Allred, I have can only say GET A LIFE LADY! ! !
vee

So what is this lady’s problem?? Its the parents who have to drive the kiddies to CEC and give them $$ to spend!! so the parents who ARE doing this must not have a problem with this – and the ones who do are not going there. What a moron!!
Will

Go to the one in Redondo Beach.. They have a sign by the frontdoor.. No Firearms Allowed…. All I could say was REALLY???? Isn’t this Chucky Cheese???? And they justified it too… Last thing I need….. is to be shot by a 4 year old… Oh and I do have pics….