EGamingPulse

Thursday, February 10. 2005

Super Bowl gaming probe continues

Post Crescent

GRAND CHUTE — Officials Monday were unable to say when, or if, criminal
charges will be brought after state agents raided a supper club here
Friday and seized a $100,000 Super Bowl pool.

Outagamie County Dist. Atty. Carrie Schneider said no arrests were made
after agents from the state Justice Department’s Division of Criminal
Investigation seized the pool from the Legacy Supper Club, 5334 N.
Richmond St.

She said a second, consensual search was conducted at Tommy G’s, a
Kaukauna tavern. She said she was told that between $10,000 and $15,000
in betting was involved there. Officials there could not be reached for
comment Monday.

Schneider said it is not uncommon to hear rumors about Super Bowl
betting, “but a $100,000 pool is something unique to this area.”

Schneider was waiting for police reports on the Legacy incident, and
said she would be in contact with state agents to determine whether a
forfeiture of the money would be sought at the federal or state level.

She said the seizure came as the officers executed a search warrant at the business.

A search warrant return filed Monday by Joseph Kapitany, a special
agent with the DCI Gaming Enforcement Bureau, said officers seized
$101,848 in currency, as well as a bank statement, numerous football
pools, completed and blank forms, a computer disk, a list of phone
numbers, six log books with financial information, a receipt book, and
several photocopies of Super Bowl football pools’ names and numbers.

The affidavit filed by Kapitany when he asked Outagamie County Circuit
Judge Dee Dyer to authorize the search said state agents became aware
of the large pool from a citizen informant in November, and said people
were paying $1,000 a square for the 100-square pool, with the payout
set at $95,000. The informant said $5,000 would go to the bar to pay
for expenses from the Super Bowl party at the club.

The informant told agents the numbers were assigned Feb. 1, and owner
Robert Blair was waiting for eight people who had asked for squares but
not paid for them yet. The informant said 15 people were on a waiting
list to buy squares.

Two other agents went into the bar undercover Feb. 1, and said Blair
told them he had people from Hortonville, Freedom and Florida among the
bettors. He said participants were allowed to make monthly payments on
their numbers starting a year ago.

Agents also said the bar ran a separate sign-in pool where the prize was $1,000 every three weeks.

Names on the Super Bowl pool were nicknames like “Tommy G.,” “Lucky,”
“Lucky K.,” and “House,” the agents said, and the pool was to make
payments from $5,000 to $25,000 at the end of each quarter of the game.

The affidavit said Blair, 52, and his wife, Mary, 51, also had a partner, Richard D. Bauman.

The agents said Robert Blair was placed on probation for 18 months in
October 1999 after being found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of
using premises for gambling.

The Blairs did not return a call Monday seeking comment.

Brian Rieselman, a spokesman for the state Justice Department, said he could not comment on the ongoing investigation.

“We are not going confirm or deny matters under investigation,” he said.

Grand Chute police said their only involvement was to have a uniformed
officer on the scene when state agents executed the search warrant.

Jessica Iverson, public information officer for the state Department of
Revenue, said that department doesn’t enforce gambling laws, except
concerning video gambling machines, but does enforce tax laws if a
gambling winner doesn’t report his or her winnings, and the state
learns about it.

“Say somebody did win, that is considered income and that is considered taxable even though it is illegal gambling,” she said.

But the state wouldn’t know that unless someone tells the tax collectors.

“We do receive tips from time to time and we do follow up on all of
them,” she said. “Sometimes we get information through the (Internal
Revenue Service).”

Capt. Mike Jobe of the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department, whose
department is not involved in the probe, said the case is unusual, both
for the size of the alleged pool and because gambling complaints are
rare.

He said the last local gambling investigation he recalls was several
years ago when Fox Valley taverns that were paying off on video game
winnings were charged.