Sandston restaurant owner fears losing skill games will hurt her business

Susan Matthews owns Sportsman Restaurant & Lounge on Williamsburg Road in eastern Henrico County, Virginia.

Matthews said she planned to comply with state law and remove the now illegal skill games from her business.

"I’m probably going to cry. Because the last time they turned them off, it affected my business terribly," Matthews said about the machines which are part video game and part slot machine. "They were off for six months. My sales went to half in the first month, the second month it was about 40 percent because you know, some people started coming back, but still, the six months that we were out, it was 30 to 50% difference in my sales, because people weren’t coming in at all.”

As a business owner, Matthews takes some of the money customers put into the machines and credits the machines for some people choosing to buy food and drink at her restaurant.

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