CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It's been more than a year since the Nueces County game room ordinancetook effect. Chief Deputy of Operations David Cook weighed in on what they have observed so far.
"What I’m finding is that the game rooms who are not willing to or wanting to apply for a permit are operating without a permit and those are the game rooms we are focusing on," said Chief Deputy Cook.
Cook said 30 game rooms have applied for permits within Nueces County but
only seven game rooms in Nueces County received permits to operate.
The Chief Deputy said the Nueces County Sheriffs Office is working with the Corpus Christi Police Department to stop illegal activity within the game rooms.
"CCPD is focusing on the illegal gambling side, they work hard at utilizing resources and were focusing on game rooms that simply don’t have a permit," said Cook.
He stresses that just because a game room has a permit, it does not mean gambling is legal within the establishment. He also reminds receiving a payout over five dollars is illegal.
"If a game room is open, whether they have a permit or not, and they’re profitable then there is no doubt in my mind that they’re making illegal payouts. Because a game room cannot be profitable unless then they’re going to make those payouts," said Cook.
Illegal gambling is not the only concern for law enforcement.
"These game rooms are hotspots for other criminal activities. In the game rooms we have shut down since March, we have found 2 guns. One of those guns was a stolen gun. Another gun was connected to a drive-by in Robstown," said Chief Deputy Cook.
If there is illegal activity in a game room, it's not just the operators who can get in trouble. If you happen to be sitting in that game room when it gets raided at some point, then everybody that is in that game room gambling at that time is going to receive a citation for illegal gambling," said Chief Deputy Cook.
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