The UAF basketball booster club is caught in an on-going lawsuit stemming from it describes at the illegal possession of its pull tabs by a landlord.

Emerald Isle Pull Tabs had operated games for the UAF Tip-Off Club and nine other nonprofits. But when Qwik Three, Inc. re-took control of the space Emerald was subletting on Old Steese Highway in June, it also found itself in possession of thousands of pull tab games belonging to those nonprofits, according to court records.

Pull tabs are a highly regulated enterprise. The state licenses the games to specific entities or people, and people without a license may not possess them. By not returning the games to their original owners, the Tip-Off Club and others claim the Qwik Three's vice president, Wally Hopkins, is breaking the law.

"We understand that your client, Wally Hopkins, has sealed that building and has refused to return our property to Emerald Isle," Tip-Off Club President George Bell wrote to Hopkin's lawyer in July. "We would like to request that you inform Mr. Hopkins that he is in possession of our property illegally and that he needs to return our property to us within twenty-four hours, or we will be forced to take legal action."

Three other groups, Interior Horse Council, Laborers Local 942, and Alaska Outdoor Council, threatened similar measures. Qwik Three filed a motion for a temporary injunction a month later, seeking to keep those groups and others from suing it while it determined how to return the games.

Basketball coach Frank Ostanik said he couldn't comment on the case. No lawyer has made an appearance on the club's behalf in court.

"We aren't even involved in it really," he said.

The Tip-Off Club has had a state gaming permit for more than four years, said David Lambert, the owner of the Emerald Isle Pull Tabs chain, which operated the games. In some years, the club has made upwards of $35,000 from the games, he said.

"That's a pretty good chunk for those guys," Lambert said.

The dispute is already taking its toll on the club's accounts, Lambert said. In 2006, he said, the Nanooks earned $17,000 off of pull tabs.

That's a drop from its 2005 net proceeds, $27,763, according to reports filed with the state Department of Revenue.

According to the tax papers, the Tip-Off Club has used those funds to purchase radio and newspaper advertising, team supplies, banquet awards and T-shirts. It also paid for its annual Chena golfing fundraiser, among other things.

Numbers weren't available on how much revenue overall the club brings in. But the pull tabs were a moneymaker, Bell said.

"It would be far in excess of anything we have," Bell said.

Others are seeing similar revenue losses. Jeremiah Stancampiano, treasurer of the Alaska Dog Mushers Association, said in an affidavit the association had $13,799 worth of tabs in the building.

About $115,339 worth of pull tabs were in the building when Lambert got kicked-out, he said in court records, along with $22,000 of equipment and more than $1,500 in cash.

In a September affidavit, Hopkins estimated that 13,000 pull tabs were on the premises.

"I know from personal observation that there are 26 jars-full on display," Hopkins said.

Lambert has been able to put new games into play for the 'Nooks at his other businesses, and the club has rebounded, earning $12,000 in December and $11,000 in January, he said.

But ironically, the Tip-Off Club could be looking at a bigger loss if Hopkins ever gives the games back, Lambert said.

State law requires the games be played out, should they be returned. But Lambert said he would likely have to drop the booster club and other nonprofits as clients if that happened, as no one would buy the tainted pull tabs and he wouldn't want to put them into play.

"It's the integrity of the business that has to be protected," Lambert said.

Lambert and some nonprofits allege Qwik Three employees or others may have tampered with the pull tabs illegally. Police received a report Aug. 17 of a burglary at the building, located on the Old Steese Highway. The officer noted at that an ATM and pull tabs appeared missing, according to police records. No suspects were ever found, police say.

Then, on the night of Sept. 3, Lambert said in an affidavit, company employees "were observed in the parking lot with items that were confiscated by Wallace Hopkins."

Kathryn Fitzgerald, a member of the Alaska Dog Mushers Association, said in an affidavit that "it would appear that someone got their hands on some pull tab tickets and is now trying to cash in on them."

"It is also rumored that there are individuals going around to other Pull Tab [sic] stores in Fairbanks with winning tickets asking that they be cashed in, even though they were not purchased at those locations," she said.

Lambert said he's been in contact with state investigators. But the rumors call into question if the games can ever be played, he said.

Lambert laughed when asked if someone else might operate them instead, before answering "No."

Neither Hopkins nor his attorney returned calls seeking comment. In a September affidavit, Hopkins said state gaming officials were anxious for the games to be returned to the nonprofits, and that the court should relieve him of this responsibility.

"I have neither the experience, ambition or responsibility to try to sort out ownership of these gaming devices with the [nonprofits]," he said.

In a related lawsuit, Hopkins is suing Lambert for $100,000 plus lawyer fees and is asking the court to rule the lease termination and landlord reentry lawful.

Lambert has filed a counterclaim for more than $100,000 in damages for the property and pull tabs Hopkins hasn't returned.