A tip about illegal gambling machines at two area businesses led to three arrests, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced on Friday, May 6.
In a press release, Hogan said three individuals from southern Chester County face charges for their roles in operating four “Instant Access” machines at Taqueria Guadalajara Express in Kennett Square and one “Crazy Bugs” machine at the El Nayarit 2 Mexican Store in Oxford. During the execution of search warrants, detectives seized the machines, gambling ledgers, and more than $37,000 in illegal cash.
The detectives assigned to the Chester County Drugs and Organized Crime Unit (DOC) includes a detective trained and working under a grant from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The DOC Unit had a cooperating individual enter the stores and play the illegal gaming machines to confirm that the stores were collecting cash or making illegal payouts, the release said.
These types of gambling machines are illegal in Pennsylvania due to how easily they can be manipulated. Commonly, possessors of these machines – typically, video poker or video slot machines – “knock off” or erase all of the accumulated credits from the machine, the release said.
Under the “knock off” method, the player receives money for the remaining credits on the machine and then the machine is reset to zero credits for the next player to begin. This allows the machine’s owner to operate without regulation, which can lead to further “rigging” or having a gambling machine that does not ever pay out winnings. The operators of the machines have people pay to play, then they keep off-the-record gambling ledgers to record the “take” on profits, as well as any money paid out. The “take” traditionally is split between the business owner and whoever supplied the machines, the release said.
“Given the location and customers of these stores, these machines were used to target and take money from economically disadvantaged people,” Chester County Detective Sgt. Robert Dougherty, who heads the DOC Unit, said in the release. “Nobody appreciates unscrupulous business owners running an illegal gambling operation to fleece a vulnerable population.”
The defendants charged were Jaime Sandoval, 48, of Avondale, owner of the El Nayarit 2 Mexican Store; his son, Hugo Sandoval, 22, of Avondale, the manager of El Nayarit 2 Mexican Store; and his niece, Elizabeth Sandoval, 30, of Kennett Square co-owner of Taqueria Guadalajara Express.
The three face charges related to operating illegal gambling machines and dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities and are free on bond awaiting trial, according to court records.
The Chester County Detectives’ investigation was assisted by the Kennett Square, New Garden, and Oxford police departments; the Department of Homeland Security; and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and financed in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Anybody with information should contact Chester County Detective Christine Bleiler at 610-344-4263, the release said.
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