Officials stormed into a facility housing an illegal video gambling club this Thursday evening in Texas. The officials are detaining the players and have seized $40,195 in cash and approximately $130,000 worth of slot machines.
The Underground Gambling scene seems to be surfacing in Texas as Capt. Glenn Yorek, Houston Police Department Vice, and HPD Lt. Charlie Vazquez take matters into their own hands.
The Star
The occupied facility was known as The Star. Vazquez claims that the owner of the facility had gained close to $700 a day per machine.
"People need to realize that these places are illegal — they're not regulated. If you go to Coushatta or somewhere else and gamble the machines are regulated. These aren't. They're rigged so that 99.9 percent of people lose their money," said Yorek.
In order to detain customers at The Star, the staff provided complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. On special occasions, the owner would bring fried chicken or pizza to encourage players to spend more time in the club. Similar to the actions of casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, The Star also offered weekly cash drawings and prizes.
Illegal Operations
Conning customers is not the only crime involved in the industry. The HPD believe that illegal activity, such as underground gambling, attracts more crime to the county.
"There is a lot of theft that goes on. Anywhere you have a lot of cash, especially in an illegal operation, you are going to have a high chance of armed robbery," Yorek said.
Although no charges were made on the night of the raid, the machines will be destroyed and the HPD and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will enjoy the benefits of the funds found in the vicinity.
Those who were found at The Star were fined as high as $279 plus legal expenses.
Raids to Continue
The HPD believe that there are approximately 400 to 500 illegal video gambling facilities in the city and proper publications of the raids are needed in order to assure other underground casinos to shut their doors for good.
