LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky bar owner is blaming the state's signature industry on hurting his bottom line.

Last Thursday, the state House and Senate passed House Bill 594, which outlaws what proponents call "skill games." Machines with names like "Burning Barrel" and "Wildcat" have become popular and can generate thousands of dollars in income per month for establishments.

The machines, which look like slot machines, with cash payouts have popped up in bars, restaurants and truck stops across Kentucky in recent years. But on July 1, they will become illegal. 

Joe's Older Than Dirt has been an institution in the Lyndon area of Louisville since 1937. They've navigated a lot of challenges in that time to survive, including the pandemic in recent years.

"I watched as, every week, another bar or restaurant in the city of Louisville went out of business," said the bar's owner, Crescent Bride. 

That's one reason why Bride said he, and hundreds of others, welcomed the skill games from Pace-O-Matic to his bar.

"I'm always interested in varying ways to maximize our profit potential," he said.

Bride said the games didn't cost anything to install, just a revenue sharing agreement with the company that can sometimes bring in about $1,000 in a given week.

"It's a lifeline to the small, independent businessmen," he said.

He and supporters of the machines say they were legal in Kentucky. However, critics say they are not, and called "gray machines" for a reason.

"It's already illegal," said Mark Guilfoyle to WDRB News earlier this month. "We're just reaffirming that fact and clarifying crystal-clear in House Bill 594."

Guilfoyle works with Kentuckians Against Illegal Gambling, a horse industry-backed interest group that pushed for action to kill gray games. HB 594 passed both the House and the Senate last week, and Gov. Andy Beshear signed it into law.

"They were unregulated," Beshear said. "I think that they were unlawful."

However, slot-like machines for historical racing seen at Churchill Downs-owned Derby City Gaming, are regulated and legal under Kentucky law.

"I am baffled as to why Churchill Downs is allowed to do it and no one else is able to do it," Bride said. "Everyone in this state is going to be harmed by this decision."

The signing of the bill means a court challenge is the only route left for proponents to preserve the games. 

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