Posted on: July 28, 2024, 10:07h.
Last updated on: July 28, 2024, 10:07h.
$403K in cash was confiscated and 400 slot machines were disabled following raids last week of gambling operations in Florida’s Volusia County, authorities said.
Each of the gambling joints was shuttered following Thursday’s court-ordered searches, according to Florida TV station WFTV.
The gaming dens not only were the sites of illegal gambling but were associated with robberies, shootings, and drug overdoses, authorities said.
Many of the players who gambled at the operations were on fixed or minimal incomes, including those who are senior citizens, authorities added.
One of the sites last year alone generated $37M in revenue from slot gambling, officials said. That led the owners to earn $5M in profit, WFTV reported.
Gambling Locations
The 11 illegal casinos were identified as being at:
- Preview Games, 2411 Enterprise Road, Orange City.
- Winner’s Circle, 1250 S. State Road 15A, DeLand.
- Cyber Monkey, 350 S. Spring Garden Ave., DeLand.
- Phoenix 3, 2500 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand.
- Comptrek, 2525 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand.
- Lucky Seven Arcade, 1720 S. U.S. Highway 17, Pierson.
- Spin-N-Win, 1464 Ocean Shore Blvd., Ormond Beach.
- Winners, 1468 Ocean Shore Blvd., Ormond Beach.
- Lucky Duck, 1376 N. Nova Road, Daytona Beach.
- Klix Arcade, 1101 Derbyshire Road, Daytona Beach.
- Jiffy, 986 S. Nova Road, Ormond Beach.
Three suspects were charged for running an illegal gambling house and another suspect was found to be wanted on a warrant for a parole violation.
The investigation was run by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Gaming Control Commission.
Throughout Volusia County, we have these illegal gambling houses that are popping up all over,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a statement. “It’s sort of like playing whack-a-mole: We’ll go in with a cease-and-desist order, they’ll temporarily shut down and then change locations and operate in a different venue.”
He said these illegal operations were “stealing” money from visitors, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Free Meals
To keep the patrons on site, the 11 gambling joints even gave players catered meals, so they didn’t have to take a break to get food, Chitwood revealed.
The inquiry into illegal gambling started two years ago. The gambling joints were investigated. Evidence was presented to a local judge who approved search warrants. The raids took place.
Last week’s raids, and ones taking place in the county during November, led to the seizure of more than $1.1M and the disabling of over 600 slot machines, according to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office plans to continue to crack down on illegal gambling and related crimes.
