DC Lions Club provides non-profit gaming at local bar/restaurant

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The relationship between the Deer Creek Lions Club and owners at Wet Woody’s Pub and Grub in Deer Creek recently took an unexpected turn after the Deer Creek Lions Club presented the local bar and restaurant of its intent to vacate the premises within 30 days. The notice came less-than two months after owners of Wet Woody’s Pub and Grub presented the Deer Creek Lions Club with a similar notice, before the two sides reportedly came to an agreement to continue the charitable gambling relationship at the encouragement of the Deer Creek City Council.

During a special city council meeting last week, the Deer Creek City Council discussed how it should forward if the Deer Creek Lions Club proceeds with its intent to vacate Wet Woody’s Pub and Grub as the non-profit gambling organization. While the Deer Creek City Council does not dictate who can be in charge of charitable gambling at each establishment, it has the right to approve or deny requests from organizations who want to offer charitable gambling in town. In the past they have expressed an interest in keeping the Deer Creek Lions Club, or another local organization, as the charitable gambling group inside the bar/restaurant. 

“We want to have something to keep that (money) in town,” said council member Danny Hendershot. “Number one, we want to see the Lions in there, period. We want to see them work it out (and) we want to have the Lions have the (pull-tab) boxes and everything over there again. As a group, 100 percent we are in agreement that we want the Lions to be there, but if something bad happens and this goes south in 30 days or on the 24th they are done, we want to have a jumpstart on this (finding another group).”

Councilman Jayme George agreed with Hendershot that it would be in the best interest of local residents and the community to keep a local as the non-profit gambling organization. Even though non-profit groups are required by state statue to donate 10 percent of their proceeds to the community in which the money is raised, how that money is spent in a community is up to each organization. In the past, George said the Deer Creek Lions Club have donated several times that amount and have even asked how they can help in the community without any red tape.

“With the Lions I would say probably 70 percent of that money stays within the community. So, in looking at what is best for the city, it is keeping the money local the best we can,” said George. “We are talking about $250,000 a year that comes from across the street. That is a significant amount of money.”

In order to help alleviate past differences between Wet Woody’s owners and the Deer Creek Lions Club, the Deer Creek City Council helped to mediate the situation by having city clerk/treasurer Miriam DeCock act as the gambling manager for the Deer Creek establishment. She offered to serve in the position after Wet Woody’s Pub and Grub gave the Deer Creek Lions Club a 30-day notice to vacate their establishment in January. The other establishments served by the Deer Creek Lions Club would continue to operate as they had in the past with Korie Gray working as gambling manager. 

“It was voted on (by the Lions Club) and I thought that was what was going to happen, but it never got any footing. I guess Miriam never fully got a chance to take it over,” said George. “I don’t know what happened with that agreement. I don’t know if that ever got a fair shot.”

By serving Wet Woody’s Pub and Grub with a 30-day notice to vacate the property as the gambling organization, George said the Lions Club is potentially hurting both the club and community as a whole, due to less money that could be available for their various causes in the region. Even though the Deer Creek City Council said it would not approve another group from outside the community to offer charitable gambling at Wet Woody’s Pub and Grub if the Lions Club were forced out of the establishment against their will, last week the council said it would be open to the idea of an outside group coming into the community to offer charitable gambling if the Deer Creek Lions Club made the decision to leave on its own. 

In the past, the Lions Club had stated there was issues in finding enough help to serve the ever-expanding amount of charitable gambling offerings that Wet Woody’s expected the Lions Club to provide each week, which was one of the reasons for a past strife between the bar/restaurant and the Lions Club. However, DeCock said there seems to be enough help in place now and the issues appear to be more personalities clashing than help. 

“Getting help right now is not (the issue) at all. It seems the problem is a personality clash,” said DeCock.

Councilman Bob Lund said that even though there was an agreement in place to change who is in charge of the gambling operations at the Deer Creek establishment, Gray still needs to be allowed to check the boxes and money for the gambling at the establishment. He alleged that when Gray tried to do that recently, she was locked out of the bar and would not be allowed to enter the premises, which he said cannot legally happen.

After discussing several of the reported changes the Deer Creek Lions Club have made in recent weeks, including establishing a new gambling committee, George asked who actually approved sending the letter from the club to the bar/restaurant. No representatives from Wet Woody’s (who were not in attendance) or the Lions Club spoke during the meeting. In serving their notice, the Lions Club asked for several requests from Wet Woody’s to stay on as a non-profit gambling organization.  

In serving their notice, the Lions Club asked for several requests from Wet Woody’s to stay on as a non-profit gambling organization. 

The conditions include: Wet Woody’s Pub and Grub owners, employees and volunteers will not interfere in the business operations of the Deer Creek Lions Gambling organization at any time; Wet Woody’s will allow the gaming manager to do their business operation at any time without notice; if employees of the Deer Creek Lions Club are harassed by the customers of Wet Woody’s in any way it is the responsibility of the bar/restaurant to end any harassment or all gaming operations will be closed for the remainder of the day; the only responsibility of the lessor in the daily business of the gaming operation will be to exchange money to and from the cash bank for purchase of merchandise or payout of any winners, to provide purchased merchandise to the customer and to accept rent check from the Lions Club when it is delivered, not other interference will be allowed in the business operation. 

In order to keep non-profit gambling in the establishment, as well as a desire to keep the group as local as possible, the Deer Creek City Council discussed several organizations like the Wadena Fire Relief Association and the Wadena-Deer Creek wrestling program that could provide gambling on a short-term basis until another group in Deer Creek could take over. One local group discussed as a possibility to take over was the Deer Creek Fire Relief Association, but whether they wanted to enter the business of non-profit charitable gambling at the time of the meeting was unknown. 

Hendershot said whoever goes into the establishment should the Deer Creek Lions Club leave would need have a conversation with Rod and Cathy Woodward of Wet Woody’s Pub and Grub prior to going in to make sure everyone is on the same page about expectations. In the past the Deer Creek Lions Club said that the expectations of the Woodwards and what they wanted the group to provide for gambling changed a number of times and decisions were needed quickly, which led to a souring of the overall relationship.

“Going forward, whoever goes in if the Lions leave…and the Lions are doing the same thing asking for a little give and take and some compromise. Whoever goes in there it has to be more cordial (between the groups),” said Hendershot. 

The city council said if the Deer Creek Lions Club pulls out of Wet Woody’s as the non-profit gambling organization then its first choice would be to have a group like the Deer Creek Fire Relief Association take over as the gambling organization. If the group was not interested in doing so, or cannot get the necessary paperwork completed in time, the plan would be to approach the Wadena Fire Relief Association first and Wadena-Deer Creek wrestling association second to see if they would be interested in offering charitable gambling on a temporary basis until a local organization wanted to take it over. 

Prior to the vote the council again reaffirmed its desire to see the Deer Creek Lions Club rescind its notice to vacate and stay at Wet Woody’s, but wanted to get a back up organization in place if the relationship cannot be repaired by the end of April. 

The motion passed on a 3-1 vote with Lund voting in dissent.