CALGARY POLICE SERVICE

VICE UNIT

Det. Jim Rorison

GAMBLING / GAMING

•GAMBLING EQUATES TO PROSTITUTION, PEOPLE GO IN WITH

THEIR EYES OPEN SEEKING PLEASURE

•GAMBLING KNOWS NO SOCIAL BOUNDARIES

INVESTIGATIONS

MOST GAMING HOUSE INVESTIGATIONS RESULT FROM COMPLAINTS FROM SPOUSES OR COMPETITIORS GAMING HOUSES. SOME

OF THE BEST GAMES IN TOWN CAN BE FOUND BY FOLLOWING KNOWN HIGH

STAKES GAMBLERS

IDENTIFY A LOCATION AND MAKE OBSERVATIONS OF TRAFFIC SUCH AS

KNOWN GAMBLERS, ORGANIZED CRIME FIGURES – PIMPS, EHTNIC GANG MEMBERS

OR DRUGGIES.

PEOPLE WHO MAKE EASY MONEY ARE DISPOSED TO GAMBLING AS THE LOSS IS

NOT AS SIGNIFICANT

GAMES PLAYED IN GAMING HOUSES

TEXAS HOLDEM & OMAHA

THERE WILL BE BOOKMAKING ASSOCIATED TO MOST GAMING HOUSES

OPERATION TEXAS

A Joint Forces Operation consisting of resources from the Calgary Police Service Vice Unit, Edmonton Police

Service Vice Unit and Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission.

ILLEGAL GAMING HOUSES

• COMSTOCK MENS CLUB• CHINOOK SOCIAL CLUB• THE GAME• THE 108 STREET CLUB

HOW MUCH MONEY

TEXAS HOLD’EM

•Usually 32-35 hands per hour

OMAHA

•Usually 22-27 hands per hour

3 % rake/donation fee to the house

1%-2% tip to the dealer

TYPE OF GAME CLUB REVENUE

3-6-12 $40-$65 / hour

5-10 $50 -$85 /hour

10-20 $60-$100 / hour

In hourly terms at 16 table hours per day extrapolated to a yearly figure the clubs can realize $468,000 per year…….tax free

PEAK PLAYING TIMES

2 Poker Clubs offered games 24 hours a day

2 Poker Clubs opened after the Casino’s closed at 2 a.m. and operated until around 7 a.m.

However they might continue for days on end ……one player stated he had once played for 52 hours without a break

OPERATION TEXAS A.G.L.C. Hardy McGill

Edmonton Police Service Deputy Chief Vann

CITeam Commander Inspector J. McCallum

Despute Resolution Committee Jones, Curtis, Hamm

Senior Management Group Middleton-Hope McGill & Quail

Media Liaison S/Sgt D. Middleton-Hope

Brian Jones S/.Sgt K. Quail

Work Management Group Boyko, Rorison, Murphy

File Coordinator Detective D. Curtis

Analyst Cst. Dulaney

Calgary Scene Investigator Detective L. Colby

Constable M. Dulaney Exhibit Officer

Interviewers Detective P. Thomas Detective A. Dicken Detective S. Brown Detective J. Fulton Detective L. Dafoe

Uniform Personnel Transport

Arrest Officer Appearance Notices Detective J. Fulton

Arrest Officer/Arrestee’s Detective D. Curtis

Primary Investigator Detective J. Rorison

Administrator Detective A. Dicken

Clerk K. Coonfer

Finance Manager B. Boyko

Secondary Investigator Detective Murphy

Administrator Detective A. Dicken

Edmonton Police Service Clerk

STRATEGIES

• Use of an undercover operator to infiltrate the 4 poker clubs

• Identify the rake and where it went• Identify the owners, dealers and players• Identify any licenced gaming workers

working or playing in the clubs• Determine the extent if any of the

organized crime aspect to the poker clubs.

STRATEGIES NOT USED

•Inexperience on the Investigators side

•Lack of funding – minimum bet of $500

•No wiretap capability

Pursue bookmaking component

Proceeds of Crime Component

•No definitive box of cash for them

•Most Keepers are gamblers and their money is transient

•Little records kept by the keepers

STUMBLING BLOCKS

Coordinating 4 agencies to make a commitment to start on the same date – and have resources in place

Having trained undercover operators available in case primary u/c is burnt – major difficulty

Operational security – casino staff, cops, police management – want to talk about the file

Training of prosecutors, defense counsel and Judges in relation to gaming matters

STATUS

4 locations taken down at the same time……2:30 am

12 owners charged with keeping a gaming house

19 dealers/housemen charged

55 players/found-in’s charged

25 licenced gaming workers suspended for 30 days-90 days

All owners convicted in Court – average fine $5,000 – up from a previous $500 fine

AGLC has extended licenced poker room hours to 22 hours a day thereby eliminating the opportunity for illegal poker rooms to recruit customers

SEIZURES

14 Texas Hold’em poker tables - 300 lbs each

70 office style chairs – 20 others

60 thousand poker chips – valued at 95 cents each

14 rake/donation boxes

Documents – filing cabinets

We needed an 8 man crew with a fully packed 5 ton truck to complete the seizures

Storage can become an issue due to the size of the items

ILLEGAL GAMBLING MACHINES

Video Gambling Machines started appearing in Eastern and Southern Ontario approximately 10 to 12 years ago. Today there are anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 video gambling machines across the province. Currently, it is suspected that the illegal gaming machines are becoming more prevalent throughout Alberta.

The three main types of machines that are likely to be found are:

•Video Poker Machines

•Quarter Horse Machines

•Lucky 8 Line Machines

WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE

The 2000 C.I.S.A. Report stated: “In Western Canada, video gaming and lottery machines are the newest, and possibly the largest, illicit source of gambling income available to organized crime groups. The machines can earn up to $2000 per machine, per week, making this an extremely lucrative business. The cost of the machines ranges between $2500 and $5000 and is quickly paid off. Organized crime groups including the Hell’s Angels, Asian-based organized crime, Traditional organized crime, and East European-based groups are all involved in the illegal operation of these machines.”

OPERATION PAYOUT

JOINT FORCES OPERATION

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Tips from numerous anonymous sources about illegal machines in ethnic areas of Calgary

Confidential source information identifying owners and amounts of monies being generated

Relatives of players complaining of persons losing thousands of dollars and eventually committing suicide

Uniform Police Officers recording activity around the machines while conducting routine patrols

LOCATIONS

Identified 5 locations on International Avenue – exclusively Asian

Identified 8 persons who were owners/operators of the illegal gaming houses

Identified the existence of 10 illegal gaming machines – horse race video machines

ROADBLOCKS

Insular community – everyone well known to each other

Inability to use Calgary Asian undercover police officer

Gaining commitment from EPS to supply Asian Officer

Monitoring of Asian undercover operator who spoke only Vietnamese while inside the locations

Ability for primarily Caucasian officers to conduct surveillance on the targets and maintain officer safety of the Asian undercover operator

STATUS

6 ILLEGAL GAMING HOUSES IDENTIFIED

12 ADULTS CHARGED WITH 22 CRIMINAL CHARGES LAID

26 ILLEGAL GAMING MACHINES SEIZED

$8000 CASH SEIZED FROM INSIDE MACHINES

30 GRAMS OF CRACK COCAINE SEIZED

3 PERSONS DEPORTED BY CANADA IMMIGRATION

BOOKMAKING

We have completed 3 investigations over the last 3 years involving bookmakers

The main reason they survive is because Sports Select does not allow for single game bets, credit ……………..

There are several large bookmakers in Calgary, some of which provide services to a large Asian community

Difficult to get investigative partners as they do not impact any direct government gaming venue