{"id":10215,"date":"2018-07-16T12:46:25","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T12:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=10215"},"modified":"2018-07-16T14:36:32","modified_gmt":"2018-07-16T14:36:32","slug":"pa-authorities-bust-up-multimillion-dollar-video-gambling-ring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/pa-authorities-bust-up-multimillion-dollar-video-gambling-ring\/","title":{"rendered":"PA Authorities Bust Up Multimillion-Dollar Video Gambling Ring"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Pennsylvania<\/strong> state authorities recently destroyed a <strong>multimillion-dollar video gambling organization<\/strong> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.post-gazette.com\/news\/crime-courts\/2018\/07\/12\/video-gambling-pennsylvania-attorney-general-anthony-zenner-illegal-machines\/stories\/201807120141\">arrested its alleged owner<\/a>. The illegal operation conducted business in <strong>Allegheny<\/strong>, <strong>Fayette<\/strong>, <strong>Washington<\/strong>, and <strong>Westmoreland<\/strong> counties.<\/p>\n<p>In the scheme, patrons at bars, restaurants, and clubs could <strong>win credits<\/strong> from machines placed in the establishments. The winners would then <strong>redeem<\/strong> the credits for cash from the bar owners.<\/p>\n<p>In connection with the investigation, <strong>Pennsylvania State Police<\/strong> arrested 58-year-old <strong>Anthony Zenner<\/strong> of <strong>East Washington<\/strong> on July 12. Zenner, the owner of <strong>Zenner Vending<\/strong>, reportedly placed<strong> over 140 devices<\/strong> in bars or restaurants since 2006.<\/p>\n<p>Several grand jury witnesses testified that Zenner would collect his money once a week. One witness referred to the event as \u201c<strong>Tony Day<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The witnesses also described how Zenner would <strong>split the profits<\/strong> evenly with the location\u2019s owner.\u00a0The <strong>Pennsylvania Attorney General<\/strong>\u2018s office alleges that Zenner ran his enterprise in <strong>33 locations<\/strong> throughout the four counties.<\/p>\n<h2>State authorities worked long and hard on the case<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cToday we\u2019ve ended Tony Zenner\u2019s video gambling operation,\u201d said state attorney general <strong>Josh Shapiro<\/strong>. \u201cThis defendant raked in millions of dollars in illegal proceeds, draining money from Pennsylvanians \u2014 and from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania \u2014 over the last decade.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The arrest was the final step in a <strong>three-year investigation<\/strong>.\u00a0In April 2018, police confiscated <strong>over 100<\/strong> video poker machines and<strong> $83,000 in cash<\/strong> from Zenner\u2019s warehouse and car.<\/p>\n<p>They also froze <strong>$63,000<\/strong> spread across several bank account. In all, they allege that Zenner made <strong>$7 million<\/strong> over the course of the past decade.<\/p>\n<p>Officials used<strong> undercover surveillance<\/strong> often over the course of the investigation. A state trooper testified to a grand jury that he observed Zenner <strong>removing and mixing money together<\/strong>, obscuring its origin.<\/p>\n<p>Zenner denied all the charges through his attorney.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a legitimate vending machine company. He has everything from dartboards, pool tables to soda pop machines, snack machines,\u201d said <strong>Christopher L. Blackwell<\/strong>, Zenner\u2019s attorney. \u201cHe obtained a license to place these machines within their municipality. He paid the appropriate taxes and the licensing fees that go along with that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blackwell went on to dispute both the <strong>alleged income<\/strong> amount and <strong>ownership<\/strong> of all the machines which were confiscated. He also wasn\u2019t sure if Zenner owned all 1<strong>42 machines<\/strong> that had been taken as evidence.<\/p>\n<h2>Illegal gambling odd choice with so many options in PA<\/h2>\n<p>There are a plethora of legal options available. From the four counties involved, three casinos \u2013 <strong>Rivers Casino<\/strong>, <strong>Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin<\/strong>, and <strong>The Meadows Racetrack &amp; Casino<\/strong> \u2013 lie within an hour\u2019s drive.<\/p>\n<p>Even if those opportunities weren\u2019t sufficient, online gambling will soon be a reality in Pennsylvania. On July 12, <strong>Parx Casino<\/strong> became the first casino in Pennsylvania to <strong>file for an interactive gaming license<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board<\/strong> is also finalizing its regulations for sports betting in the Keystone State. After that, it is likely that sports betting will be available at some of the state\u2019s casino properties.<\/p>\n<p>That list of properties is also due to grow. <strong>Stadium Casino<\/strong> in Philadelphia is under construction and scheduled to open in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Every one of those legal options pays taxes to the state. Because of that fact, the state has both ethical and financial motivations to pursue illegal gambling operations.<\/p>\n<p>No government body would ever reduce its vigilance when those two aspects combine. However, <strong>$7 million<\/strong> over the course of a decade may make it <strong>worth the risk<\/strong> to some.<\/p>\n<p>The post PA Authorities Bust Up Multimillion-Dollar Video Gambling Ring appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pennsylvania state authorities recently destroyed a multimillion-dollar video gambling organization and arrested its alleged owner. The illegal operation conducted business&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/pa-authorities-bust-up-multimillion-dollar-video-gambling-ring\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">PA Authorities Bust Up Multimillion-Dollar Video Gambling Ring<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[374,6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10215","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-link","6":"category-industry","7":"category-news-category","8":"post_format-post-format-link","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>PA Authorities Bust Up Multimillion-Dollar Video Gambling Ring -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/pa-authorities-bust-up-multimillion-dollar-video-gambling-ring\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PA Authorities Bust Up Multimillion-Dollar Video Gambling Ring -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pennsylvania state authorities recently destroyed a multimillion-dollar video gambling organization and arrested its alleged owner. 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