{"id":194641,"date":"2021-12-09T08:01:21","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T16:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=194641"},"modified":"2021-12-09T10:04:35","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T18:04:35","slug":"floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida\u2019s Seminole County Casino Raids Lead to 18 Arrests, Operations Shuttered"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deputies on Wednesday raided eight allegedly illegal gaming properties in Florida\u2019s Seminole County, with 18 suspects charged. If convicted, each arrestee could face several years in prison.<\/p>\n

\"Charges
One of the allegedly illegal casinos raided this week in Seminole County, Florida, pictured above. Eighteen suspects were charged. (Image: WOFL<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The individuals were charged with counts of racketeering, keeping a house of gaming, delivering gaming machines, and running an illegal lottery. The illegal operations were also shut down.<\/p>\n

Seventeen of the suspects were in custody Wednesday in the John Polk Correctional Facility. They were being held without bond. Most reside outside of Seminole County.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u201coverwhelming majority of them have operated establishments like this in the past,\u201d Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma told Clickorlando.com<\/em>, a regional news site.<\/p>\n

None of the individuals were prosecuted previously, he added.<\/p>\n

The investigation launched in May following the sheriff\u2019s office getting a tip from Crimeline, Clickorlando.com<\/em> said.<\/p>\n

Gambling Dens in Disguise<\/h2>\n

The casinos were operating \u201cin a clandestine type of environment\u201d in eight locations, Lemma said. Three were in Altamonte Springs, two in Sanford, one in Casselberry, and one in unincorporated Seminole County.<\/p>\n

\n

Many of the dens were set up in strips plazas and had no distinguishing signs or were disguised as other business. In one case, a den was disguised as a pawn shop. Another was marked as a billiard hall, according to Lemma.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It seemed like these establishments operated similar to speakeasies. If you were a customer, you could not gain access unless the operators inside knew you. Individuals had to be buzzed in and out.<\/p>\n

However, players said when they tried to get their payout, they were not able to receive the money that was owed to them, Lemma added.<\/p>\n

Targetting Seniors<\/h2>\n

Beyond that, Lemma was quoted by the Orlando Sentinel<\/em> that many of the players were living on a \u201cfixed income.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many were seniors. None of the players was arrested.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deputies on Wednesday raided eight allegedly illegal gaming properties in Florida\u2019s Seminole County, with 18 suspects charged. If convicted, each arrestee could face several years in prison. The individuals were charged with counts of racketeering, keeping a house of gaming, delivering gaming machines, and running an illegal lottery. The illegal operations were also shut down. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":194643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFlorida\u2019s Seminole County Casino Raids Lead to 18 Arrests<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eighteen suspects were charged as deputies raided eight illegal gaming properties in Florida\u2019s Seminole County. Most remain in jail.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Florida\u2019s Seminole County Casino Raids Lead to 18 Arrests\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eighteen suspects were charged as deputies raided eight illegal gaming properties in Florida\u2019s Seminole County. Most remain in jail.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-09T16:01:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-09T18:04:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/raid.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/\",\"name\":\"Florida\u2019s Seminole County Casino Raids Lead to 18 Arrests\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/raid.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-09T16:01:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-09T18:04:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"Eighteen suspects were charged as deputies raided eight illegal gaming properties in Florida\u2019s Seminole County. Most remain in jail.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/raid.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/raid.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Florida\u2019s Seminole County Casino Raids Lead to 18 Arrests, Operations Shuttered\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\",\"name\":\"Ed Silverstein\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-6-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-6-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Ed Silverstein\"},\"description\":\"Ed Silverstein is a senior reporter covering gambling law and crime news for Casino.org. Ed is an award-winning journalist with credits ranging from the Associated Press to American Lawyer Media. Ed joined the Casino.org news team in 2019 after decades of experience in legal reporting. His past reporting and editing assignments include Cowles Business Media, Columbia University Press, the Connecticut Post, and Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Besides the law and its application to the gaming industry, Ed\u2019s areas of expertise span business, politics, education, and state and local government. Ed holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and master\u2019s degrees from Harvard and Yale. His professional awards include recognition from the New England Press Association and New England AP News Executives. Ed currently resides in Connecticut, where he enjoys photography and bowling in his spare time. Contact Ed at ed.silverstein@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/ed-silverstein\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgedsilv\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/ed-silverstein\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Florida\u2019s Seminole County Casino Raids Lead to 18 Arrests","description":"Eighteen suspects were charged as deputies raided eight illegal gaming properties in Florida\u2019s Seminole County. Most remain in jail.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Florida\u2019s Seminole County Casino Raids Lead to 18 Arrests","og_description":"Eighteen suspects were charged as deputies raided eight illegal gaming properties in Florida\u2019s Seminole County. Most remain in jail.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2021-12-09T16:01:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-09T18:04:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/raid.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ed Silverstein","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgedsilv","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ed Silverstein","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/","name":"Florida\u2019s Seminole County Casino Raids Lead to 18 Arrests","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/raid.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-09T16:01:21+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-09T18:04:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e"},"description":"Eighteen suspects were charged as deputies raided eight illegal gaming properties in Florida\u2019s Seminole County. Most remain in jail.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/raid.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/raid.jpg","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/floridas-seminole-county-casino-raids-lead-to-18-arrests-operations-shuttered\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Florida\u2019s Seminole County Casino Raids Lead to 18 Arrests, Operations Shuttered"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e","name":"Ed Silverstein","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-6-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-6-1-96x96.png","caption":"Ed Silverstein"},"description":"Ed Silverstein is a senior reporter covering gambling law and crime news for Casino.org. Ed is an award-winning journalist with credits ranging from the Associated Press to American Lawyer Media. Ed joined the Casino.org news team in 2019 after decades of experience in legal reporting. His past reporting and editing assignments include Cowles Business Media, Columbia University Press, the Connecticut Post, and Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Besides the law and its application to the gaming industry, Ed\u2019s areas of expertise span business, politics, education, and state and local government. Ed holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and master\u2019s degrees from Harvard and Yale. His professional awards include recognition from the New England Press Association and New England AP News Executives. Ed currently resides in Connecticut, where he enjoys photography and bowling in his spare time. Contact Ed at ed.silverstein@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/ed-silverstein","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgedsilv"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/ed-silverstein\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}