All felony charges have been dropped against a 63-year-old man accused of operating an illegal euchre tournament at an Akron social club. Norman D. Metz, the card tournament organizer, was to stand trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court on two felony counts of operating a gambling house and two additional counts of gambling. The charges stemmed from a 2008 police raid on the social club. Metz was allegedly charging $20 per ticket to enter the tournament and additionally took $10 and $20 side bets. None of the 50 to 60 club patrons playing in the afternoon euchre tournament that day were arrested, but they were photographed and forced to give police their drivers’ licenses or social security numbers. 

Summit County prosecutors have agreed to drop the felony charges in exchange for a guilty plea to a single misdemeanor gambling offense plus payment of a $1,000 fine and forfeiture of over $3,000. Retired Common Pleas Judge Marvin A. Shapiro, who handled the case as a visiting judge, approved the felony dismissal action and gave Metz six months jail time, suspended all of the jail time, and placed him on two years of probation with no reporting requirements.