{"id":239613,"date":"2022-10-26T18:08:55","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T23:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=239613"},"modified":"2022-10-26T18:45:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T23:45:06","slug":"nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/","title":{"rendered":"NYPD Cites Gamblers in Chinatown Park, Illegal Activity Cleaned Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Police Department (NYPD) sent in the cops a few days ago after press reports shined the light on illegal gambling taking place at a Chinatown Park.<\/p>\n

\"A
A New York City officer inspects gaming taking place in a Chinatown park, pictured above. Officers and parks authorities broke up illicit activity in Columbus Park. (Image: New York Post<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hundreds of gamblers were wagering daily at Manhattan’s Columbus Park<\/a> in recent weeks. That’s until officers and parks department workers dismantled the illicit operations over the weekend. On Monday, officers returned to the park for inspection and outreach to local residents.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, multiple tents erected by gamblers in the park were taken down. Some later were tossed into the trash.<\/p>\n

\n

By Tuesday, a New York Post<\/em> reporter visiting the park saw no gambling taking place there<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Summonses, Citations<\/h2>\n
\n

NYPD officers issued seven summonses after cops broke up the illegal gambling. Parks department employees issued six citations. Gambling involving cash is illegal in city parks, the\u00a0Post<\/em> said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It did not appear that any dealers or players were arrested on a more serious charge, promoting gambling. That could have led to a four-year prison sentence, as well as $5,000 in fines, the Post<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the players at the park included the middle-aged and elderly. Many appear to have been speaking in Chinese dialects.<\/p>\n

The Post<\/em> initially revealed that illegal gaming was taking place at the public park. The newspaper reported on Tuesday about the citations and enforcement activity over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, there were numerous instances of gambling in Columbus Park. Officers and park employees initially ignored the gambling, such as Gai-Gow poker<\/a> and Chinese blackjack, the report said.<\/p>\n

The park is near federal and state courthouses. Various law enforcement agencies have offices nearby, too.<\/p>\n

\"Columbus
Columbus Park sign, pictured above. It is located in New York City’s Chinatown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meghan Lalor, director of media relations at New York City\u2019s Department of Parks & Recreation, told the Post<\/em> last week they were \u201caware\u201d of the gambling and were working with the NYPD \u201cto enforce the no-gambling rule at Columbus Park.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the pot in some games had totaled thousands of dollars, the report said. During one recent week, reporters spotted 10 tents in the park.<\/p>\n

Numerous gamblers had been seated at cement and wooden tables. They were taking part in what the Post<\/em> described as \u201cLas Vegas-style action and \u201ccasino-level gambling\u201d that rivals Atlantic City.<\/p>\n

Many neighborhood residents had been concerned about prior gambling in the park. Witnesses complained about illegal Columbus Park gambling multiple times to the NYPD.<\/p>\n

\n

For those players who want to gamble legally if approved, locations such as New York City’s Times Square<\/a> have been mentioned as possible sites for licensed casinos in New York City. It is about 3.5 miles from Chinatown to Times Square. It is a relatively quick subway ride, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Distances to Legal Casinos<\/h2>\n

One gambler complained to the Post<\/em> traveling to current gambling meccas, such as Atlantic City, is too far to travel from Chinatown. It is about 127 miles.<\/p>\n

The distance from Columbus Park to Connecticut\u2019s Foxwoods Resort Casino is even longer, some 142 miles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Police Department (NYPD) sent in the cops a few days ago after press reports shined the light on illegal gambling taking place at a Chinatown Park. Hundreds of gamblers were wagering daily at Manhattan’s Columbus Park in recent weeks. That’s until officers and parks department workers dismantled the illicit operations over the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":239456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[83435,13766,82549],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNYPD Cites Gamblers in Chinatown Park, Illegal Activity Cleaned Up<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New York Police Department sent in cops after reports shined the light on illegal gambling. It was taking place at a Chinatown Park.\" \/>\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=\"NYPD Cites Gamblers in Chinatown Park, Illegal Activity Cleaned Up\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New York Police Department sent in cops after reports shined the light on illegal gambling. It was taking place at a Chinatown Park.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/\" \/>\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=\"2022-10-26T23:08:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-26T23:45:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-26-at-9.48.14-AM-1024x655.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"655\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\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=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/\",\"name\":\"NYPD Cites Gamblers in Chinatown Park, Illegal Activity Cleaned Up\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-26-at-9.48.14-AM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-26T23:08:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-26T23:45:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"New York Police Department sent in cops after reports shined the light on illegal gambling. It was taking place at a Chinatown Park.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-26-at-9.48.14-AM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-26-at-9.48.14-AM.png\",\"width\":4028,\"height\":2578},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NYPD Cites Gamblers in Chinatown Park, Illegal Activity Cleaned Up\"}]},{\"@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":"NYPD Cites Gamblers in Chinatown Park, Illegal Activity Cleaned Up","description":"New York Police Department sent in cops after reports shined the light on illegal gambling. It was taking place at a Chinatown Park.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NYPD Cites Gamblers in Chinatown Park, Illegal Activity Cleaned Up","og_description":"New York Police Department sent in cops after reports shined the light on illegal gambling. It was taking place at a Chinatown Park.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-10-26T23:08:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-10-26T23:45:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":655,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-26-at-9.48.14-AM-1024x655.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Ed Silverstein","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgedsilv","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ed Silverstein","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/","name":"NYPD Cites Gamblers in Chinatown Park, Illegal Activity Cleaned Up","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-26-at-9.48.14-AM.png","datePublished":"2022-10-26T23:08:55+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-26T23:45:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e"},"description":"New York Police Department sent in cops after reports shined the light on illegal gambling. It was taking place at a Chinatown Park.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-26-at-9.48.14-AM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Screen-Shot-2022-10-26-at-9.48.14-AM.png","width":4028,"height":2578},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nypd-cites-gamblers-in-chinatown-park-illegal-activity-cleaned-up\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NYPD Cites Gamblers in Chinatown Park, Illegal Activity Cleaned Up"}]},{"@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\/239613"}],"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=239613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}