The Los Angeles-based Normandie Casino is the target of a probe by a federal grand jury sparked by a state accusation that the card club has allowed some players to avoid reporting the purchase of more ,000 in poker chips using. According to Reuters, the casino is also suspected of allowing money laundering.
According to a spokesman for the Normandie, federal prosecutors informed the club last year that it was the subject of an investigation. The U.S. Attorney has declined to comment
Law enforcement suspects that many of the state’s 90 card clubs don’t strictly enforce the law on large cash purchases of chips, according to a source.
The authorities suspect that mob figures use some card clubs to hide the true source of their funds, a form of money laundering.
Kyle Kirkland, president of the California Gaming Association, says that such practices are not widespread, although there may be the occasional instance of it happening.
Others say that the insistence by many Asian players that their transactions remain private means that casinos that offer games popular with Asians are probably violating the law.
The probe of card rooms, a relatively small segment of the gaming industry, is part of a larger series of investigations by the U.S. Justice Department. An example is accusations that the Las Vegas Sands Corp. failed to disclose possibly suspicious transactions involving a Mexican high roller, Zhenji Ye Gon. Sands agreed to pay $47 million to the Justice Department over the issue.
