Eight Fresno locations raided in major illegal gambling case

The Fresno Police Department’s vice squad searched eight Fresno locations on Wednesday after a six-month investigation into illegal card and lottery games.

Sgt. Curt Chastain said fake businesses were set up at these locations to mask the gambling. The daily profit of each business was estimated at between $5,000 and $10,000.

Each location ran several daily Thai Lottery games. Thai Lottery is a game similar to the California Lottery Daily 3, Chastain said, except that Thai Lottery games often offer much better odds. These locations were paying out $80 to every $1 for guessing two winning numbers, and $800 to every $1 for guessing three winners.

Chastain said the intensive investigation involved undercover operations and checking numerous tips from local businesses complaining about frequent traffic in the supposedly empty buildings since December.

At least one tip was from a woman who bet $85 on three winning numbers but didn’t receive her promised $68,000 payout, Chastain said.

Many of the businesses also had card tables without securing the permits required to run card games at a business, Chastain. In Fresno, only Club One Casino is properly licensed to hold card games, Chastain said.

Police raided three neighboring units around 6 p.m. at one business complex at 4759 E. Olive Ave. Eleven people were arrested on misdemeanor charges, Chastain said. Those playing were not charged with any crime.

“We are targeting the people running these things,” Chastain said.

One business at Suite 101 was registered as a video rental store, but no videos were found inside, Chastain said. Suite 103 and 104 were not licensed businesses and not disguised as anything.

Similar raids were conducted at five other businesses within a four-mile area: 4535 E. Olive Ave., 4637 E. Turner Ave. and 168, 170 and 178 N. Maple Ave.

Chastain said the investigation is ongoing, and he wasn’t sure how many people would be cited or how much cash would be seized on Wednesday. It is unknown if the eight locations are linked.

Each location has been up and running for about a year, Chastain said. Thai Lottery games aren’t uncommon in Fresno, he added.

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Eight Fresno locations raided in major illegal gambling case."