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It is now legal to play the dice game cee-lo in bars and other places that serve alcohol in Montana.

A bill by Democratic state Rep. Ryan Lynch of Butte to make it so sailed through the Montana Legislature with bipartisan backing and was signed into law Monday night by Gov. Steve Bullock.

The governor joined Ryan, Senate Minority Leader Jon Sesso, D-Butte, and other legislators and former lawmakers for a ceremonial signing Wednesday.

Lynch filed the bill in response to a dice-game bust at the Butte Country Club on Nov. 21, 2018, the day before Thanksgiving. The bill passed the House 84-13 in February and 28-20 in March.

State investigators said they found patrons playing a cee-lo dice game at the Butte Country Club with thousands of dollars at stake, so the club was fined $2,000 and had to shut down its poker machines for three weeks.

Lynch said he didn’t know specifics of the incident or how much money was involved when he filed the bill but said the state response was heavy-handed and was leveled against the establishment when it had no involvement in the game.