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- Officials say they had been hearing complaints about the illegal casino for a while, so the police department called on the Ohio Casino Control Commission to help them with the investigation.
- Pennsylvania State Police along with Berks County law enforcement officers seized nearly 60 electronic gaming machines during a raid on a business, authorities said Friday.
A sprawling mansion in a high-end neighborhood north of Toronto operated as a 'high-end' underground gambling den complete with spa treatments, armed guards, and even a full-cash bar, Canadian authorities revealed Wednesday.
Anaheim police detained dozens of people on Tuesday morning after raiding an illegal gambling operation running from a vacant storefront. Officers served a search warrant at an out-of-business hydroponics store in the Californian city just before 8am. A SWAT team and firefighters were also present at the scene.
Police Seize Illegal Slot Machines Jackpots
York Regional Police announced that 32 people were arrested after authorities raided the 20,000-square-foot estate in Markham, Ontario over the summer.
'This is organized crime truly exploiting and demonstrating their money, their positions and opulence thinking somehow that they are above the law,' York Deputy Police Chief Brian Bigra told reporters.
Police said the investigation, dubbed 'Project Endgame,' kicked off in May as officials began an investigation into illegal gaming dens and identified underground casinos in the city of Markham.
Police Seize Illegal Slot Machines Free Play
A mansion in Markham, Ont. was the location of a large underground gambling operation that was revealed during a raid on July 23, 2020, according to police. (York Regional Police)
Police Seize Illegal Slot Machines Dispense
On July 3, investigators executed a search warrant at a commercial unit in the city that was being run as an illegal gaming house. Gaming tables, slot machines, and more than $20,000 were seized as five people were arrested in the first operation, according to police.
Weeks later, authorities conducted a raid on July 23 at the mansion at 5 Decourcy Ct. in Markham that sits on a two-acre property.
A mansion in Markham, Ont. was the location of a large underground gambling operation that was revealed during a raid on July 23, 2020, according to police. (York Regional Police)
Inside the home, officials said they uncovered a massive gambling operation complete with slot machines and mahjong tables.
A 20,000 sq.-ft. estate in Markham, Ont. was the site of a large underground gambling operation, according to police. (York Regional Police)
Video from York Regional Police shows the inside of the home and arrests being made the day of the raid.
Police Seize Illegal Slot Machines For Sale
A full cash bar with thousands of bottles of top-shelf liquor was also found at the home, and a banking area, according to police.
The upstairs of the mansion also appeared to be operating as some sort of bed and breakfast.
A 20,000 sq.-ft. estate in Markham, Ont. was the site of a large underground gambling operation, according to police. (York Regional Police)
Authorities have seized the $9 million mansion, as well as 11 guns -- including a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle -- along with more than $1 million in cash, gaming machines, and tables, as well as more than $1.5 million in alcohol.
Weapons were seized from the 20,000 sq.-ft. estate in Markham, Ont. was the site of a large underground gambling operation, according to police. (York Regional Police)
A total of 32 people were arrested at the house during the July 23 raid.
Officials were planning to raid the mansion on July 17 but said Wednesday aerial surveillance of the property showed that children were on the property for some special event and the operation would have been too dangerous, according to CBC News.
A 20,000 sq.-ft. estate in Markham, Ont. was the site of a large underground gambling operation, according to police. (York Regional Police)
After the mansion raid, police said they conducted another operation in Vaughan at a residence of one of the gaming housekeepers.
A 20,000 sq.-ft. estate in Markham, Ont. was the site of a large underground gambling operation, according to police. (York Regional Police)
Three people were arrested in that location and more than $70,000 was seized, 'along with various documentary evidence relevant to the illegal gaming operations.'
A 20,000 sq.-ft. estate in Markham, Ont. was the site of a large underground gambling operation that also operated as a spa, according to police. (York Regional Police)
'While the total value of these seizures is significant, this is only the start of our efforts to dismantle organized crime groups who are operating illegal gaming operations in York Region,' York Police Chief Jim MacSween said in a statement.
Police said they suspect that drug and sex trafficking was also taking place at the mansion, and their investigation is ongoing.
A mansion in Markham, Ont. was the location of a large underground gambling operation that was revealed during a raid on July 23, 2020, according to police. (York Regional Police)
'This illegal high-stakes gambling also leads to gun violence, armed robberies, kidnappings, extortion and other serious violent offenses within our community,' MacSween said. 'We will continue to target organized crime in York Region and use every tool at our disposal, including forensic accounting, to ensure these criminals are held accountable.'
In total, 45 people have been arrested and 33 of them have been charged with more than 70 criminal offenses in connection to illegal gaming activities.
A gaming lounge in Berks County was actually an illegal casino with video slot machines and has been shut down following a raid, prosecutors announced Friday.
Windfall Amusements’ 777 lounge in the Kenhorst Plaza shopping center and a home in Exeter Township were raided Thursday morning as part of the investigation into unlawful operation of illegal video gambling devices that began in February, Berks County District Attorney John Adams said.
State police seized $67,760 in cash and 57 machines at the 777 casino. The business did not allow patrons under the age of 21, and cash payouts were made by the operators, Adams said.
“They were not a skill game. They were a gambling device,” Adams said, adding investigators believe most, it not all, of the machines have characteristics unique to gambling devices and are illegal.
Efforts to reach officials with Windfall Amusements were unsuccessful.
WFMZ reported that following Thursday’s raid, people could still be seen trying to go inside the business.
Two people were at the Exeter home, Adams said. They have not been charged. Adams said he expected charges will be filed in the future based on Thursday’s raid, but did not elaborate.
“They are definitely involved in some fashion with Windfall Amusements. We do not know their particular role with the company,” Adams said, adding prosecutors are still investigating.
State police said they believe the casino was operating since December. The business received approval from Kenhorst council in July 2019 to operate 60 machines, according to the Reading Eagle.
Adams noted a Reading Eagle article from February that Windfall Amusements was seeking approval to add 30 more single-chair video skill machines. That same month, state police began their investigation based on anonymous complaint, he said.
“It was advertised on Facebook as a casino” and was identified in a news report as a casino, Adams said.
The investigation was suspended for a period of time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Investigators found
Windfall Amusements had no gaming license and paid nothing to operate what investigators determined was an illicit casino, Adams said. Penn National Gaming paid more than $7.5 million for its gaming license for a casino in nearby Morgantown, he added.
The state receives a percentage of slot machine revenue from licensed casinos, but it was not receiving any revenue from Windfall Amusements, prosecutors said.
“These type of operations around the state have to be closed, as the state receives no benefit whatsoever,” Adams said. “At the time that we need monies to operate governmental functions, it is very important that, if we’re involved in gambling, that they be through the licensed casino which creates revenue for the state of Pennsylvania. No monies were received by the state for these machines.”
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Sarah Cassi may be reached atscassi@lehighvalleylive.com.