Remote control key fobs cease to work and customers describe various combinations of problems, including the inability to open, lock or start their vehicles while in close proximity to the sweepstakes parlor.

While Eden police are investigating the problem and asking questions of Lucky Day, officials say they knew for sure what is causing the mysterious disruptions, said spokesman Sgt. David Lamberth. The owners at Lucky Day now have a microscope on their little operation by the Feds.

Emp generator for slot machine or fish table.

Investigators have determined the sweepstakes parlor is using a “jammer’’ device to interfere with radio signals from EMP generators to prevent clients from cheating and knocking out the jackpot system.

As police move forward, they need direction from the Federal Communications Commission because jammer and EMP Generator use is a federal crime.

Meanwhile, a North Carolina-based cybercrime expert says any such jammer or EMP Generator use would indeed be a federal crime.

“It’s patently illegal,” said Ben Levitan of Raleigh, a national expert witness who worked in the telecom industry for 30 years and testifies on cyber communication matters in state and federal courts.

Jammer use “is a violation of federal law and could be extremely serious,” Levitan said. “The FCC would take this extremely seriously … ”

Noting that 77 percent of the nation’s 911 calls are made from cell phones, Levitan said, “Once you jam (a game table), you jam the ability for communication,’’ Levitan said. “It’s really dangerous, because if someone needed to call 911 inside those places, they couldn’t.”

Lucky Day had also been reported to have massive equipment failure leading to non refunded money, customers say.

Fish tables in Eden, NC

Lucky Day, like all of North Carolina’s skill game and sweepstakes operations in Rockingham County, features games called “fish tables.”

The electronic skill game tables, are considered legal in North Carolina because they are deemed games of skill and dexterity, rather than chance.

Players are typically rewarded cash for the number and value of animated fish they “shoot” at the aquarium-themed tables, aglow in neon blue and green.

But like all gambling machines, fish tables are vulnerable to cheaters who may use cell phones or internet purchased EMP Generator devices to rig payouts, experts say.

And to block would-be con artists, sweepstakes operators sometimes use illegal jamming devices, a topic that’s widely discussed online by players and game owners.

“I think what these operations have figured out is that people are cheating using their cell phones, and they do not want them using their cell phones in these sweepstakes halls,” Levitan said.

A search of the internet reveals scores of available jamming devices marketed specifically for fish game tables, ranging in price from about $1,000 to $3,000.

A visit to Lucky Day last week revealed a strong sent of urine and at least three fish tables in operation.

When asked if the business uses jamming equipment, the sole worker there said, “I can’t tell you what we’re using in here,” and shut her office door, declining to give her name or title, or to share the business owner’s name.

Further explaining how a jammer could handicap vehicles, Levitan said, “When you listen to the radio, you’re tuned in to a certain frequency. There are a couple thousand channels allocated to different things like cell phones and key fobs. Generally, these signals are very sensitive. These (jamming) devices create static so these radio waves are interrupted.”

Zapped all the cars from the jammer

Jennifer W. Griffin of Eden said she has grappled with the car crippling issue four times since the fall after parking near Lucky Day.

El Parral is a Wednesday night dining tradition for Griffin, and on repeated visits she’s seen her key fob and car locks malfunction.

And whatever the disruptive signal is, it blitzed her entire family over the holidays, one car at a time, Griffin said.

Indeed, just before Christmas, Griffin’s mother Martha J. Wright had to resort to a towing service when she was unable to start her Cadillac in the El Parral lot.

Once ferried to the other side of El Parral and away from Lucky Day, Wright’s car cranked right up and resumed its normal electronic lock functions, Griffin said.

Subsequently, Griffin’s father had similar difficulty with his key fob and car locks in a third car, she said.

Restaurant staff told Griffin that at least one other patron had to abandon a car in the parking lot for several days because the car would not unlock or crank.