Casino Crime Roundup: Ohio Internet Cafe Raid Seizes $53K, 64 Gaming Devices

Posted on: March 16, 2023, 03:33h. 

Last updated on: March 17, 2023, 03:43h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A court-ordered search of Findlay, Ohio’s Lucky Dragon Internet Cafe, led to authorities seizing gambling equipment and $53,047 in cash on Monday, according to a news report.

Ohio’s Lucky Dragon Internet Cafe
Ohio’s Lucky Dragon Internet Cafe, pictured above. Cash and gambling devices were seized at the operation. (Image: WFIN)

Police located 60 video gambling devices, four tabletop gaming devices, and a Queen of Hearts gaming board at the establishment, according to reports from Ohio TV station WTOL.

The raid occurred after residents complained about alleged gambling and drug sales at the Tiffin Avenue operation. The owner of the Lucky Dragon could be charged with illegal gambling and operating a gambling house, Ohio TV station WLIO reported.

The Hancock County Metrich Drug Task Force, the Findlay Police Department, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Investigative Unit investigated the incident.

Potawatomi Casino Parking Garage is Site of Explosion

A man was arrested after allegedly setting off explosions on Sunday in the Milwaukee, Wis. Potawatomi Hotel & Casino parking garage.

Dennis Beard, 48, of New Berlin, Wis., was charged with two counts of possession of improvised explosives, according to Wisconsin TV station WITI. The explosive devices were bottles filled with muriatic acid, the report said.

Following the explosions, police said they found remains from plastic bottles and burned aluminum foil in the garage. Casino surveillance video revealed a man leaving two bottles in the garage. One bottle exploded. A couple of minutes later, a second bottle smoked but didn’t explode, the report said.

Beard went into the casino after leaving the garage. He provided casino staff with an ID to get a player’s card, according to WITI.

Police found clothing in Beard’s residence that matched the clothes of the man seen on the surveillance video. There was also a bottle of muriatic acid in the residence.

Beard later told investigators he learned how to create an explosion from a YouTube video. One of the bottles he used originally contained protein milk, and the other originally contained Mountain Dew.

Beard further told police that “his actions were stupid,” according to WITI.

Rivers Casino Robberies Lead to $5K Reward

An activist is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to arresting the suspects who committed three robberies on Friday outside of Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Ill. Pat Gibbons put up the reward, according to Chicago TV station WFLD.

The robberies within the Chicagoland area and in Chicago is out of hand,” Gibbons told the TV station. “It’s crazy. You can’t even go to a store anymore without getting your head bashed in. You can’t go to the casino without getting robbed.”

Two of the victims were pistol-whipped in the parking lot, police said. They were not seriously injured. The suspects were in a red Nissan Rogue with Florida license plates.

A fourth robbery occurred at Mariano’s Park Ridge, Ill grocery store.