Lucky 7 Arcade withdraws Saugus permit application

SAUGUS-All bets are off in regards to the Lucky 7 Arcade coming to town now that the company has withdrawn its permit application.In a letter received by Selectmen Wednesday, Lucky 7 co-owner Michael J. Parisi said he was not prepared to attempt to open a business “in a community that has intense objections to our presence there.”Parisi and his parents approached Selectmen last week seeking a permit to open an arcade in Godfried’s Plaza. They likened the business to a Chuck E. Cheese’s for adults, but the Selectmen had their concerns. A number of residents also spoke out against the arcade, calling it gambling and an unnecessary addition to the town.Chief among the Selectmen’s concerns was whether the operation was legal. While Parisi argued that the arcade games were games of skill and are allowable under the arcade laws, Selectmen raised concern that the operation was akin to an illegal lottery.However, the family runs a similar arcade in Gloucester, which they say is operating in good standing.The issue boiled down to whether the games required skill to play, which Parisi said they did, or if they were simply games of chance. A letter from a Lottery Department attorney portrayed the games as those of chance and deemed them illegal.Selectmen chose to seek an opinion from town counsel before issuing any permit, but the Parisis pre-empted the decision by withdrawing their application.In his letter, Michael Parisi said there is proposed legislative language changes pending in regards to current arcade laws, but nothing has been made into law yet.”We are working with Sen. Bruce Tarr and our attorney Marc N. Sandler Esq. in drafting of the new language which will clarify the arcade laws,” he wrote. “Hopefully this will align the law with existing technology and leave room for changes that will arise with technological advances.”Parisi, however, said until the laws are changed he didn’t think the argument over whether his arcade games were technically legal could be resolved.He ended the letter with a thank you and said, “We look forward to becoming welcomed members of the Saugus business community in the future.”