Sheriff's deputies have busted a storefront arcade, hauled away cash and scores of video slot machines and arrested five men for operating an illegal gambling house.
Acting on an anonymous tip, detectives on May 4 raided Spin City Arcade, in a strip plaza along the 5900 block of Pembroke Road in unincorporated Hollywood. They seized $8,500 in cash and 60 video slot machines.
Arrested in late May and early June were Charles Blumkin, 66, Hollywood; Robert Delaney, 53, Hollywood; Joseph Fiero, 50, Pembroke Pines; William Kent, 53, Hollywood; and Gary Nelson, 49, Hallandale. Deputies identified Fiero and Kent as Spin City's owners and the other three as managers.
Fiero declined comment, except to hint that he was being singled out. "You've got to think," he said. "Why us?"
Blumkin said he no longer works at the arcade. "I haven't been involved in it since last October," he said. "I don't know why they arrested me and I don't care."
Sheriff's office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said players could only put paper currency in Spin City's machines and then trade blue winning tickets for gift certificates at local restaurants and supermarkets. The certificates could be used to buy food as well as alcohol.
Coleman-Wright said Florida law allows video slot machines as long as they are coin-operated, based on skill, and offer credits that can be exchanged for merchandise only, not alcohol. The slots at Spin City did not comply with those standards, she said.
Arcades such as Spin City have proliferated around the state in recent years, attracting mostly seniors. Authorities in Hillsborough, St. Johns, Sarasota and Volusia counties have prosecuted them with varying degrees of success. Appellate and trial courts around the state are reviewing the machines' legality.
Mark London, a Hollywood lawyer representing Fiero and Kent, said there are about 60 to 80 arcades similar to Spin City in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. "I only know of one arrest, and that's my clients," London said. "They've done nothing different than any of the others that are still operating."
Coleman-Wright said deputies were responding to a complaint. "While these issues are being sorted out in the courts, the Sheriff's Office will continue to enforce the laws and arrest those we find to be in violation," she said.
The five arrestees face a maximum penalty of five years if convicted on the felony charge of operating a gambling house, and a maximum 60-day term on the misdemeanor charge of possession of slot machines.
The arcade did pay off for the Cash Inn of Broward, a pawn shop in the same strip plaza that saw a small bump in business from players pawning items to fund more gaming.
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Acting on an anonymous tip, detectives on May 4 raided Spin City Arcade, in a strip plaza along the 5900 block of Pembroke Road in unincorporated Hollywood. They seized $8,500 in cash and 60 video slot machines.
Arrested in late May and early June were Charles Blumkin, 66, Hollywood; Robert Delaney, 53, Hollywood; Joseph Fiero, 50, Pembroke Pines; William Kent, 53, Hollywood; and Gary Nelson, 49, Hallandale. Deputies identified Fiero and Kent as Spin City's owners and the other three as managers.
Fiero declined comment, except to hint that he was being singled out. "You've got to think," he said. "Why us?"
Blumkin said he no longer works at the arcade. "I haven't been involved in it since last October," he said. "I don't know why they arrested me and I don't care."
Sheriff's office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said players could only put paper currency in Spin City's machines and then trade blue winning tickets for gift certificates at local restaurants and supermarkets. The certificates could be used to buy food as well as alcohol.
Coleman-Wright said Florida law allows video slot machines as long as they are coin-operated, based on skill, and offer credits that can be exchanged for merchandise only, not alcohol. The slots at Spin City did not comply with those standards, she said.
Arcades such as Spin City have proliferated around the state in recent years, attracting mostly seniors. Authorities in Hillsborough, St. Johns, Sarasota and Volusia counties have prosecuted them with varying degrees of success. Appellate and trial courts around the state are reviewing the machines' legality.
Mark London, a Hollywood lawyer representing Fiero and Kent, said there are about 60 to 80 arcades similar to Spin City in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. "I only know of one arrest, and that's my clients," London said. "They've done nothing different than any of the others that are still operating."
Coleman-Wright said deputies were responding to a complaint. "While these issues are being sorted out in the courts, the Sheriff's Office will continue to enforce the laws and arrest those we find to be in violation," she said.
The five arrestees face a maximum penalty of five years if convicted on the felony charge of operating a gambling house, and a maximum 60-day term on the misdemeanor charge of possession of slot machines.
The arcade did pay off for the Cash Inn of Broward, a pawn shop in the same strip plaza that saw a small bump in business from players pawning items to fund more gaming.
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