Marina card rooms say a proposed tax could shut them down.

On a recent Friday morning, a small group of gray-haired retirees crowd around a green felt poker table at Mortimer’s Card Room in Marina. Black-and-white pictures, possibly older than the oldest gambler in the room, hang on the walls and harken to the club’s early days. The card room first opened in 1938, nearly 40 years before the city incorporated into the county.

“We predate the city that’s trying to run us out,” says Craig Butcher, a consultant for the card room.

Facing years of unbalanced budgets, Marina is weighing a ballot measure to levy a tax on card rooms. But card room operators are pushing back, saying a large tax could force them to lay off employees and shut down.

For Jesse Crawford, general manager of Mortimer’s, the proposed tax has a tinge of irony.

“How can we be treated like the leper of society, but also be expected to save the city?” he asks.

In May, the Marina City Council started talking about a possible card room tax. Marina has two card rooms: Mortimer’s and The Marina Club, right across the street. Combined, the two gambling spots have 14 tables.

A card room tax has been under consideration at least since 1995, when the city council approved a “gross revenue permit fee.” That tax was supposed to be put to the voters for approval but never was. Now the city is revisiting the issue, though putting it on the November ballot would cost about $40,000.

A report to the City Council references San Jose: It charges a 15-percent tax on card rooms, which generates revenue for the city and offsets the cost of police calls. Salinas, meanwhile, does not tax its card room.

Marina hasn’t come up with a tax rate, but critics say 15 percent is far too high. Calamia says the gambling operations in San Jose have a combined 100 tables, many of which run simultaneously. That’s compared to the small operations in Marina, where the seven tables in each facility may not all be going at the same time.

Calamia describes his customers as “trades guys – janitors, plumbers, retirees on fixed incomes.” It’s a far cry from the wealthy gamblers of other cities, he says.

A 1 – or 2-percent tax is more reasonable for the Marina card rooms, Butcher says. Mortimer’s grosses about $2 million a year. Calamia declined to reveal The Marina Club’s gross revenue, but Butcher says its net is 11.7 percent.

Operators also argue that gambling is already strictly regulated with hidden fees. Though the card rooms don’t pay a tax, they pay about $2,000 for card room and table fees.

Crawford of Mortimer’s says he’s meeting with city officials in an effort to negotiate a compromise, possibly higher table fees. Card rooms also pay for things like changing game rules; even a slight revision would cost a filing fee of $475, plus a waiting period of up to three months, Crawford says.

“This isn’t the dark backroom poker club of 50 years ago,” Butcher says.

Changes may mean collecting more money from customers, and that might drive business to Salinas, Butcher says.

Councilman Frank O’Connell says the council will explore options and the impact of increased rates on business. The council could decide to move forward with a tax, another kind of fee, or nothing at all. “There are good arguments on both sides,” he says.

The Marina City Council will revisit the issue June 18.