I had an opportunity recently to talk with someone who owns a building where an illegal game room was operating. It had been raided by HPD, money and machines confiscated, but no arrests made.
He said that when a previous tenant had moved, he advertised the space for rent. Several people responded, and came to inspect the property.
One wanted to know what he could do to assure he would be selected. He then offered an amount more than twice the monthly rent being asked. The owner thought that was for the first and last month’s rent. No, the man said. He would pay that every month, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick stack of bills. That sealed the deal.
The new tenant was apparently open about the business. He said it was not the only game room he ran. He told the building owner that the legality of the machines themselves is still an unsettled question bouncing around in the courts. So when police seize or destroy machines, new ones are available to quickly replace the old. He stated his belief that this was why arrests and convictions are infrequent.
Police, he said, often smash machines and just take any cash, leading to suspicions it doesn’t all end up as evidence.
And the tenant said that when police raid a location, they are unlikely to return anytime soon. He was confident police would leave his operation alone for at least a year before it might be raided again.
I don’t know if this building owner’s experience is typical. He gets rental income more than double the commercial market rate, paid in cash. He knows that the game room may be illegal, but believes assurances that the question is still up in the air. He does know this and other game rooms are being targeted by HPD, but takes his cues from his tenant, who views the raids as a nuisance rather than a serious threat. And the building owner sees that new machines are readily available in quantity, which he takes as evidence they are taking advantage of a gray area in the law.
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There’s a room operator in Palolo Valley who has changed location 4 or 5 times. There have been 2 people killed at different times. And he’s in business again.
I think “Game” rooms here are the biggest open secret (and joke) around along with massage parlor/prostitution rackets. Perhaps almost even a side charity fund for the cops (confiscated cash).
IF our intrepid (LOL!) legislators were so concerned, they would allow civil asset forfeiture of the property if it was deemed the landlord is knowingly renting to these type of activities.
Civil asset forfeiture is already authorized in Hawaii and does not require a criminal conviction.
So non enforcement of law is the norm here. I’m being rhetorical, of course.
Ian, I commonly see reports of these game rooms being raided, but there are fewer details about how the businesses operate. You’ve provided some very interesting insights here.
What kinds of “games” are common in the game rooms? Are they slot machines? Video poker machines?
It’s arcade style games that pay out cash, google fish hunter. That is the most popular.
There certainly are gray areas in the law with regard to gaming-type machines. Just ask Keith Kaneshiro and co.
Without knowing more, it’s impossible to say where your informant’s tenant’s machines fit in. They may indeed squeak through a legal loophole. But since he seems to write infrequent raids off as a business expense anyway, and doesn’t seem to fear criminal prosecution, it doesn’t seem to matter much, at least to him. Does he pay taxes on the income? Yes, if he’s smart. Does that make him bulletproof from a legal standpoint? Not at all, if the activities are in fact illegal.
If it’s true that police smash the machines during or after raids, that could amount to criminal destruction of property, whether or not the machines are being operated illegally. But if the owner of the machines shrugs it off, that’s likely where it ends unless HPD leadership is independently serious about accountability in such matters.
If money is being pocketed by police during raids, that’s obviously illegal. But who would investigate and prosecute? Perhaps the AG if there were actual evidence and a willingness to pursue it. That’s certainly not clear. Good business records might establish whether or not all cash is accounted for, both in terms of taxes and confiscations. Where does cash that’s legally confiscated as evidence ultimately end up, especially if there is no prosecution? Perhaps it ultimately becomes an HPD budget supplement?
One disturbing thing here is that raiding a game room, not prosecuting any alleged criminal acts, and then doing nothing for another year as the same game room continues to operate seems like a big waste of law enforcement resources, if that is indeed what’s happening. It also begs the question of whether there is a serious intent to shut down the rooms, or whether the intent is to allow cash cows to keep mooing so that they may occasionally be milked. That would seem to require a certain amount of complicity that could amount to criminal conspiracy and more if certain facts can be proven.
But it could also just mean that police are doing the best they can with limited resources to crack down on what they believe to be criminal enterprises that attract other illegal activities such as robberies, extortion, loan-sharking, drugs, etc.
Lots of good questions for police and prosecutors.
Is the building owner at risk? Certainly, if the owner is knowingly aiding a criminal enterprise. The property could even be subject to seizure, whether or not a prosecution is ultimately successful.
On the other hand, police could potentially be held liable in civil court for damage to property, harassment, and other causes of action, especially if the gaming activity is not in fact illegal. But that’s no slam dunk, and it might not be worth the operator or property owner’s time and expense to pursue those remedies.
All in all, it seems like quite a few people are taking a gamble.
In the meantime, federal laws imposed on its enforcement arms (local banks, credit unions) must follow federal AML (Anti-Money Laundry) laws against structuring, layering etc of cash deposits $10,000 and over. Therefore he’s likely not stupid enough to launder cash via a bank, investment company rather he’s likely to have a very large safe ???.
Once again it’s not the local law enforcement or politicians we can count on to break good-old-boy networks (e.g. Kaneshiro, Kealoha, etc), we must involve the FBI to get the job done.
What will we do?
Nothing has changed in Hawaii, since before Statehood. The gambling pyramid thrives on!
Where are the machines coming from?
Who makes them?
Who imports them to Hawaii?
Who sells them to operators?
found game machines for sale on alibaba
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