Man Finally Charged In Illegal Gambling Operation Case

Internet cafe's have become the new establishment's where illegal gambling operations are taking place throughout the US. With the authorities cracking down on bars and convenience stores for gambling activity, it was only a matter of time before they caught up to the Internet cafe's.

One of those cafe's, the Fast Cation Internet Cafe in Salt Lake City was the focus of an undercover investigation last October. Now, almost a year later, the owner of the business, Frank Musil, was finally charged in the case.

Musil was charged with four counts of gambling, a misdemeanor, a pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony, and possessing a gambling device or record, a misdemeanor. He must now decide whether or not to fight the charges in court.

During the investigation, officers found many computers in the cafe. The computers, however, were not set up for the Internet. Instead, they were showing a bingo-like game, where players could make bets by playing bingo cards.

The officer that was undercover discovered fifteen computer screens on one visit. The officer played a $.25 bingo card, and was able to cash out winnings upon completion of the bingo game. The day the search warrant was issued, fourteen people were playing the computers.

After the raid on the cafe, the police department analyzed records that were seized. The records, according to the police, showed that the chance of winning on any given bingo card was sixteen percent. It also showed that over seventy-five percent of the money the game generated was given back to customers in winnings.

July 30, 2009
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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