Dotty's
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Tavern / Gaming / Foodservice |
| Founded | Oregon (1991) |
| Founder | Craig Estey |
|
Number of locations
|
175 |
| Website | www |
Dotty's is a chain of slot machine parlors with about 175 locations in Nevada, Oregon, and Montana, and another 150 locations planned in Illinois. The business model is controversial, with sites "offering minimal food and beverage choices with a heavy focus on gambling." The chain caters to women aged 35 and older, with a clean, well-lit atmosphere meant to invoke "your grandmother's kitchen".
The chain was founded in Oregon in 1991 by Craig Estey, whose family owned a major vending machine and food distribution service. The Oregon Legislature that year had authorized video poker machines to be installed in bars and taverns, under the aegis of the Oregon Lottery. The first poker machines began operation in March 1992, and by the next month, five Dotty's delis were open. The Oregon State Police, responsible for background checks on lottery retailers, objected to licensing the delis, arguing that they were not the type of business intended by the Legislature to have video poker, but its concerns were overruled by the lottery's director, Jim Davey.
In late 1993, when Dotty's sought to open its sixteenth outlet, Davey's successor, Dan Simmons, sought an opinion from the Attorney General as to whether he could deny the license on the basis that Dotty's was primarily a gambling business. A rule was instituted requiring a business to be at least a year old before becoming a lottery retailer, but Estey sued the state and was granted a waiver from this new requirement. Another rule was enacted requiring retailers to earn no more than two-thirds of their total income from the lottery, and a 1997 audit found that 21 of the 22 Dotty's outlets were in violation.
As of 2005, Dotty's had 26 locations in Oregon, and earned $6.4 million in lottery commissions.
In 2006, Estey came under investigation by the Lottery for alleged incidents of domestic violence against his wife, and for lying to Nevada gaming regulators about the incidents. Faced with the threat of losing Dotty's lottery retailer contract, Estey was forced to sell Dotty's locations in Oregon to a group of investors from South Dakota, including Dan Fischer and Marwin Hofer, at a sales price reportedly higher than $15 million. The new owners took possession in March 2007, with the Lottery itself agreeing to operate the stores on a temporary basis.
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Wikipedia