St. Lucie County - Thursday September 14, 2023: St. Lucie County Sheriff detectives executed a search warrant at the Rio Arcade in Port St. Lucie Thursday morning.
On Thursday morning around 10:15 a.m. investigators entered the arcade located in the 6000 block of US 1. They shut it down and seized the illegal gambling machines.
“Over the past 24-months since the creation of the Florida Gaming Commission, we have attempted to educate the arcade owners operating in St. Lucie County that they were violating Florida law," said SLC Sheriff Ken Mascara in the release. " We have also visited the arcades that remained in operation and warned them that their continued operation would result in criminal charges.,”
The raid followed an 8-month investigation into illegal gambling, according to a release from the SLC Sheriff's Office. The owner and the manager of the arcade are being charged. Their names have not yet been released.
A number of people playing games in the arcade were also charged with illegal gambling and were given a court date to appear. The number of players arrested was not provided.
“My advice to other arcade owners and those customers who patronize them is to beware,: said Sheriff Mascara. "This style of gambling is illegal outside of licensed and regulated locations.”
VIEW a video of the raid here: https://fb.watch/n2_aOdGdh1/.