In the game of high-stakes poker between Attorney General Marc Dann and the manufacturer of a skill-based wagering machine, the company folded its cards yesterday.

The manufacturer of Match 'Um Up, a video console in which players insert money to wager on rows of fruit pieces, agreed to release an analysis of the game that Dann had demanded be made public.

Still hanging in the balance, however, is whether Dann will attempt to keep the games out of Ohio. He did call on the legislature yesterday to regulate them.

Late yesterday, Gov. Ted Strickland weighed in on the controversy for the first time, although he was less than definitive.

"The governor's belief is that the people voted overwhelmingly against expanding gambling in Ohio, and he does not want any groups to game the system," spokesman Keith Dailey said.

Strickland is concerned about the potentially extensive proliferation of gaming devices in Ohio and agrees with Dann that a decision needs to be reached about how they will be handled, Dailey said.

Dann declared Match 'Um Up legal May 22, saying player skill was enough of a factor to distinguish it from illegal slot machines, which rely solely on chance. Much of Dann's conclusion was based on a 31-page report by a consultant hired to evaluate devices that exist in a legal gray area between video games and slot machines.

Match 'Um Up's manufacturer, South Carolina-based Castle King LLC, petitioned Judge David W. Fais of Franklin County Common Pleas Court this week to keep the report private because it contains information that could help players beat the game or competitors copy it. Fais temporarily granted the request.

Incensed, Dann threatened to call off the deal to legalize Match 'Um Up and similar games. He said unwarranted secrecy would undermine players' confidence that the games were fair and actually skill-based as required by law.

The Match 'Um Up report was released with only small portions blacked out. But a spokesman for Dann said the attorney general lost some confidence in Castle King's commitment to be open and honest with the state and public.

"After misrepresenting what we said and our discussions with the judge, the fact that they're now doing what they were supposed to do all along does not smooth over the situation," said Leo Jennings III, spokesman for Dann. "We continue to have serious reservations about this area of law. We're evaluating what we're going to do next."

Earlier yesterday, Dann called on lawmakers to develop tighter regulations for games such as Match 'Um Up and Tic Tac Fruit that have proliferated across Ohio. One option, Dann said, would be to simply declare the games illegal.

Castle King's attorney, David A. Kopech, said that threats to banish the company's machines from Ohio did play a role in making the report public. He said, however, that the company never objected to releasing any of the document -- only the most sensitive portions.

"Our only purpose was to make sure we could protect the proprietary information," Kopech said. "As far as we're concerned, all of the issues have been resolved.

"We're all for transparency. We don't have anything to hide."

The report on Match 'Um Up, conducted by New Jersey-based Gaming Laboratories International, does not opine whether the game has more to do with skill or chance.

It notes that player skill comes into play in several areas: the ability to memorize a strip of 128 recurring fruit patterns, the ability to physically react to a flashing fruit piece both within 333-millisecond and 83-millisecond windows of time, and the ability to recognize that those tasks are important to win the game.

After Dann declared Match 'Um Up a game of skill, the manufacturers of several similar games approached his office about getting licensed.

Gambling opponents have expressed concern that Ohio could be blanketed with thousands of slot-machine clones even though voters in November resoundingly turned down a proposal to allow slots at horse tracks and in Cleveland.

Dispatch reporter Mark Niquette contributed to this story.

jnash@dispatch.com