{"id":156146,"date":"2020-11-21T06:16:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T14:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=156146"},"modified":"2020-11-21T17:57:11","modified_gmt":"2020-11-22T01:57:11","slug":"illegal-tokyo-casino-hired-ex-pro-fighter-as-security-guard-police-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-tokyo-casino-hired-ex-pro-fighter-as-security-guard-police-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal Tokyo Casino Hired Ex-Pro Fighter as Security Guard, Police Claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

An alleged illegal gaming operation in Japan employed a former pro fighter to act as a bodyguard while baccarat gambling apparently was taking place inside, authorities revealed this week.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Roppongi district is a popular nighttime destination in Tokyo. It was also the location of an alleged illegal casino that police closed down in July. (Image: Wikipedia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tokyo police have arrested one-time fighter Koni Okuno. But he claims he was unaware of any gaming going on in the joint.<\/p>\n

Starting in January 2019, he worked at the venue. He stopped in July when it was closed down.<\/p>\n

Police allege Okuno was paid 11 million yen (about US$105,900) for his bodyguard services. In Japanese, he was known as a yojimbo.<\/p>\n

Okuno denies ever getting paid. He also claimed he never knew about the illegal gambling.<\/p>\n

I was asked to provide security,\u201d Okuno told local police, the Tokyo Reporter<\/em>, an English language publication covering Japan, reported. \u201cI didn\u2019t know there was gambling going on and I didn\u2019t receive any money.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Tokyo Reporter <\/em>added that Okuno was apprehended by Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Earlier this year, police arrested a dozen suspects in connection with their investigation of the operation.<\/p>\n

The casino was open during the coronavirus pandemic, the news report said. It only allowed members to gamble on baccarat, the report adds.<\/p>\n

While it was open, the venue earned about 480 million yen. That works out to about to about US$4.6M.<\/p>\n

The venue was closed in July after a police raid. Two baccarat tables, chips, and playing cards were seized back then by local police. The manager and nine other people were apprehended by authorities.<\/p>\n

Later arrests took place in September. Among those charged was Chizuka Yamamoto, a 70-year-old reputed senior member of the Yamaguchi-gumi. He was allegedly involved in casino operations, said Kyodo News<\/em>, a Japanese news organization.<\/p>\n

Yamamoto is allegedly affiliated with the Takumi-gumi organized crime group, a subgroup of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Yamaguchi-gumi is reputed to be Japan’s largest yakuza (organized crime) organization.<\/p>\n

Details on Crime Organization<\/h2>\n

The Takumi-gumi was founded by Masaru Takumi, a powerful Japanese crime figure, and was the second-highest ranking leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi until his assassination in 1997, Casino.org<\/em> explained in a September news report. The Yamaguchi-gumi is claimed to be one of the largest criminal organizations in the world, with more than 20,000 members.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also among the wealthiest, amassing billions of dollars a year from extortion, gambling, the sex industry, drug dealing, arms trafficking, stock market manipulation, and construction kickback schemes, law enforcement has alleged.<\/p>\n

\n

Upon his arrest following the casino raid, Yamamoto denied the allegations of his involvement in the casino.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The alleged illegal casino was located in the Roppongi district. The neighborhood is known for its nightclubs, bars, strip clubs, and restaurants.<\/p>\n

Japan Awaits Licenses for Legal Integrated Resorts<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, Japan continues on its path to open three licensed integrated resorts<\/a>.\u00a0As of last month, Osaka, Yokohama, Wakayama, and Nagasaki were competing to land one of the licenses for legal gambling.<\/p>\n

In October, the application process — which was supposed to run between Jan. 4, 2021 and July 30, 2021 — was delayed until a final date of April 28, 2022. The new start date for applications is unclear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An alleged illegal gaming operation in Japan employed a former pro fighter to act as a bodyguard while baccarat gambling apparently was taking place inside, authorities revealed this week. Tokyo police have arrested one-time fighter Koni Okuno. But he claims he was unaware of any gaming going on in the joint. Starting in January 2019, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":156148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIllegal Tokyo Casino Hired Ex Pro Fighter as Security Guard, Police Claim<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An illegal casino in Japan allegedly employed a former pro fighter to act as a bodyguard. 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