UPDATE: Wife of game room owner arrested for gambling promotion
Published 1:35 pm Wednesday, March 18, 2020
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A 54-year-old Nederland woman was arrested recently on a charge of promotion of gambling at a Port Arthur game room, and the case is now with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office for review.
Tina Nguyen, who is the wife of the owner of 777 Game Room on 3300 Medical Triangle Drive just off 32nd Street, was a legal attendant at the business, Port Arthur Police Det. Mike Hebert said.
According to the police department, investigators had reason to believe 777 Game Room was promoting illegal gambling by paying out customers in U.S. currency for their winnings.
An undercover officer was sent March 11 into the business to play the 8-Liner gaming machines.
“While inside, the attendant of the above business facilitated in the promotion of illegal gambling by paying out the (undercover officer) in U.S. currency for her winnings,” a release said.
Once this occurred, the Crime Response Team was notified, and the attendant, Nguyen, was charged with gambling promotion and taken to the Jefferson County Correctional Facility.
She has since bonded out of jail on the Class A misdemeanor charge. The business was not shut down by police, no other arrests were made and there are other suspects, Hebert said.
The game room had properly filed paperwork with the city to operate the business, police said. The city requires a number of permits and fees to operate the gaming room, but it is strictly against the law to pay out prizes cash.
The case has also been sent to the city’s attorney for review to see if there are more violations on the business, and if so their gaming permit may be pulled.
A phone number for the game room was not listed online.
Two other Port Arthur game rooms saw game room attendants arrested at other gaming facilities in the city in recent months. Ngoc Nguyen was arrested for gambling promotion at Shanghai game rom — which is now closed due to fire code violations, and Thu Huong Tran with Lucky Game Room was also arrested on the same charge.