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James Leslie Graham is charged with using proceeds from racketeering activity, establishing a gambling place, fraud and money laundering over $100,000 in the last 12 months.
He was arrested for running an illegal gambling arcade out of Cape Coral, Florida.
What makes this story interesting is that Graham is 89 years old.
Authorities say undercover detectives already seized contraband from his arcade last summer. The investigation has been going on for about a year, all centered around Graham.
More than $60,000 was seized from slot machines at Senior Chuckie's, a now shuttered establishment in Cape Coral. Graham is listed as the Officer/Director of that business entity.
Florida has seen a major statewide crackdown on illegal “arcades,” fish games, and storefront gambling parlors over the past year, especially in Southwest Florida, which includes Cape Coral.
Six gambling arcades were raided around this time last year in Cape Coral. 428 gambling machines were seized at that time along with $540,000 in cash. Businesses shuttered included Jackpot Island and Jackpot Corner.
The Cape Coral Police Department said the illegal casinos preyed on elderly residents, in particular, those with gambling addictions. The illegal machines were calibrated to ensure losses. In Florida, machines must be calibrated to at least 85% or higher for payouts. The machines payouts in the seized machines were found to be as low as 18%.
“Operation Silent Spin” in Manatee County earlier this month resulted in more than 250 gambling machines and over $120,000 seized from several Bradenton arcades including Spin City Arcade and Mike’s Arcade.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
