According to a video posted on Facebook by Cuarto Poder Reporter Gloria Ruiz, the business had been operating as an illegal casino, or casinito as they’re commonly referred to, for approximately one month, and was closed by police Monday night.
The building, located on Avenue E between 8th and 9th Streets, had a notice of seizure from the Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office posted on the front door, as well as police tape.
According to Ruiz, those running the casino also kept a list of names and information of people who played, including some from Mexico who could possibly lose their visas for participating in illegal activity.
Several of the casinitos in Eagle Pass have closed indefinitely after news broke out about the illegal business that was shut down in Del Rio.
Maverick County attempted to regulate the casinitos in September of 2016, but nothing came of it.
“We’re trying to see if it’s legal for us to control them, and if we have the capability to inspect them from time to time,” said Precinct 4 Commissioner Robert Ruiz in a previous interview. “First we’d have to make sure we’d give them a license, a county permit so to speak. We’ve discussed even charging them on a yearly or monthly basis for each machine they have in operation, or a fee to operate on a yearly basis.”
The casinitos, which can legally operate in Texas as long as they are not rewarding customers with monetary gifts, are being regulated in places like Webb County, said Commissioner Ruiz, who believes Maverick County should do the same.
Despite never having visited a casinito, Commissioner Ruiz said that from his understanding, people pay to play, are given tokens, then receive small gifts instead of cash.
“There’s no exchange of money or funds,” said Commissioner Ruiz. “Are they making money? Yes, they’re making money. We just want to make sure things are done legally and to control them by way of asking for a permit.”
Sorpresivo cierre de Casinitos en Eagle Pass
Un casino ilegal en Del Rio, Texas ha sido cerrado por la policía local a principios de esta semana.
Según un video publicado en Facebook por la periodista de Cuarto Poder, Gloria Ruiz, el negocio había estado operando como un casino ilegal, o casinito como se les conoce comúnmente, durante aproximadamente un mes, y fue cerrado el lunes por la noche por la policía.
El edificio, ubicado en la avenida E entre las calles 8 y 9, tenía un aviso de embargo de la oficina del sheriff del condado de Val Verde colocado en la puerta principal, así como una cinta de la policía.
Según Ruiz, quienes manejan el casino también mantienen una lista de nombres e información de las personas que jugaron, incluyendo algunos de México que posiblemente podrían perder sus visas por actividades ilegales.
Aqui en Eagle Pass tambien se cerraron todos los Casinitos, no tenemos información de el cierre porque no podemos preguntarle ni al sheriff, ni al Juez, ni al Fiscal de Distrito, ni al Fiscal del Condado, ni a los Texas Tangers porque aqui tienen años localmente funsionando y ninguna autoridad del condado, ni estatal, ni federal se habian dado cuenta que habia varios casino ejerciendo ilegalmente.