Poker Machines Disguised as Video Games Seized

A two-day police sweep of cafes and restaurants in several Orange County cities ended Thursday with the confiscation of nine video game machines that, with the press of a button, offer illegal gambling.

The devices, which police say are cropping up in Westminster’s Little Saigon and other areas, are part of an ongoing game of cat and mouse between police and illicit gambling operators, said Westminster Police Det. Tom Rackleff.

“They are pretty ingenious,” he said, noting that police have searched cafes in the past for signs of gambling only to find people playing video games.

The machines appear to offer games such as Pac-Man and Tetris but can be converted with the touch of a remote into illegal video poker machines, police said.

Police have confiscated a total of 21 machines in Orange County in the last three years. Each can generate as much as $150,000 a year, officials said. One person was arrested in the latest sweep, but the investigation is ongoing. Possession of such machines is a misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Rackleff said winners normally claim their winnings from the cafe or restaurant operator because the machines don’t dispense cash.

Under state law, odds-based machine gambling is illegal outside Indian reservations. Real-life card games, common in some local casinos, are permitted under certain circumstances because they pit players’ skills against each other.

Westminster Councilman Tony Lam said the illegal machines are popular among some local gamblers but not a widespread phenomenon.

“They love gambling and they can’t stop it,” he said.

At first, the illicit operators simply imported slot machines from states such as Nevada and New Jersey, where such gambling is legal, according to police.

When they realized how conspicuous the machines were, they began converting old video games into poker machines. Although authorities don’t know where the devices are made, their sophistication has led to fears that organized crime is behind some of the operations.

“There is some structure that is emerging,” said Westminster Police Capt. Andrew Hall. “It is similar to what used to happen in New York and New Jersey 20 or 30 years ago where [organized crime elements] controlled many of the vending machines.”

Officials aren’t sure where the machines are manufactured or how widespread they are in the United States. But police said they have heard of similar gaming machines being found in Los Angeles.