HARTride 2012
September 27th, 2007, 11:26 PM
Tampa gaming facility shut down
Thursday, September 27, 2007
TAMPA (Bay News 9) -- The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has seized $800,000 worth of video gaming machines at Action Video Gaming in Tampa.
Deputies said they got a tip about the business from a disgruntled customer who thought the games were rigged. On Thursday, deputies rolled the gaming machines out of the business and onto a flatbed truck.
The gaming center, which opened in July on north Florida Avenue, had been the subject of an investigation for four months, according to the sheriff's office.
The business owner, John Zilba, said the games were legal because they offered only gift cards, not a cash prize.
But the sheriff's office said the facility was operating illegally.
"They have a real cash value," said Sgt. Bruce Woodbury of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. "You get a $50 gift card from Publix, it's a $50 gift card. And the statute clearly says no reward of value."
Zilba is charged with keeping a gambling house, which is a third-degree felony.
http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/9/27/290829.html?title=Tampa+gaming+facility+shut+down
Thursday, September 27, 2007
TAMPA (Bay News 9) -- The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has seized $800,000 worth of video gaming machines at Action Video Gaming in Tampa.
Deputies said they got a tip about the business from a disgruntled customer who thought the games were rigged. On Thursday, deputies rolled the gaming machines out of the business and onto a flatbed truck.
The gaming center, which opened in July on north Florida Avenue, had been the subject of an investigation for four months, according to the sheriff's office.
The business owner, John Zilba, said the games were legal because they offered only gift cards, not a cash prize.
But the sheriff's office said the facility was operating illegally.
"They have a real cash value," said Sgt. Bruce Woodbury of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. "You get a $50 gift card from Publix, it's a $50 gift card. And the statute clearly says no reward of value."
Zilba is charged with keeping a gambling house, which is a third-degree felony.
http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2007/9/27/290829.html?title=Tampa+gaming+facility+shut+down