18 arrested in illegal gambling ring run out of Borgata

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Source: 18 arrested in illegal gambling ring run out of Borgata

By BETH DeFALCO | Associated Press Writer
1:41 PM EST, November 14, 2007

TRENTON, N.J. - An illegal sports gambling ring run out of a high-stakes poker room in an Atlantic City casino was busted Wednesday and 18 people were arrested, including four with mob ties, a law enforcement official said.

The four _ affiliated with the Philadelphia mob _ appeared to be the ringleaders, with six employees of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa also among those arrested, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the case.

Details on charges were not immediately available. Five more people were being sought Wednesday.

State Attorney General Anne Milgram scheduled an afternoon news conference to discuss the case.

Borgata spokesman Rob Stillwell said the casino did nothing wrong and assisted in the sting that led to Wednesday's arrests.

Stillwell said that the ring involved "rogue employees" and that some "correspondence" took place in the casino. But he said no one was arrested on the casino floor and the integrity of the casino's operations were never compromised.

He said the employees arrested were all in jobs that involved regular contact with customers, but he would not elaborate.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is a subsidiary of Boyd Gaming Corp. and MGM Mirage.

The state Casino Control Commission was expected to take disciplinary action against the casino workers who were arrested, commission spokesman Daniel Heneghan said.

"I'm certain that any Borgata employees that were arrested, the Division of Gaming Enforcement will file complaints to revoke their licenses," he said.

If the charges are proven, the ring would be among the most serious mob operations under the roof of an Atlantic City casino since the city's first casino opened in 1978.

Fear of organized crime prompted New Jersey to institute tight controls when legal gambling began, but regulations have been loosened over the years.

The anxieties were expressed in a now-famous speech by then-Gov. Brendan T. Byrne when he signed the law authorizing casinos on June 2, 1977: "I've said it before and I will repeat it again to organized crime: Keep your filthy hands off Atlantic City. Keep the hell out of our state!"

Unlike in Las Vegas, there is no legal sports book in Atlantic City, a city where shopping, dining and entertainment have taken off but legitimate gambling revenues have been down this year.

This is the second high-profile sports betting charge in New Jersey in the last two years. In 2006, a state trooper, NHL hockey coach Rick Tocchet and a third man were charged with running a sports gambling ring. All later pleaded guilty in the case.