HOUSTON — Baytown Police and the Harris County Precinct 3 Constable's Office raided an illegal game room in Highlands Friday afternoon with nearly 100 machines inside.
Officers said they had been investigating the location on Main Street for about three months.
Police said when they arrived, the owner and two attendants ran off. Police caught the owner down the street.
The building had several different rooms, including a "high roller" room, where trusted, repeat customers could play machines with higher payouts, police said.
Police could not disclose how much money they recovered from this operation.
Not everyone was happy about the raid.
"I mean, it’s all seniors," said a woman named Judy, who would not give her last name. "There’s no dope. There’s no alcohol. It’s just older people. They always have a security guard so you feel safe. It’s something for my mom to do."
Police say not only are game rooms with certain payouts illegal, but they become targets for other crimes, like robbery.
"So while some people say, ‘It’s so innocent. It’s no different than bingo.' Well, I grew up around bingo halls as a kid back home, and I can promise you none of those bingo halls were having robbery and drug dealings and auto theft tied to them. This a different animal altogether," said Lt. Steve Dorris with Baytown Police.
Lt. Dorris said they want to address these illegal businesses before those "peripheral crimes" such as robbery have a chance to hurt the community.
Police said the people who operated this game room were making payouts in the hundreds and sometimes even $1,000 or more.
"They're making money hand over fist," Lt. Dorris said. "There's a reason why these places have security to get in. There's a reason why they employ armed security guards. There's a reason why they operate these establishments in these fronts to where it doesn't look like anything's going on, and it all ties into why we target these locations so much."
Gaming machines are legal in Texas, but one location may not operate more than five. Also, any payout more than $5 or more than ten times the betting amount is illegal in Texas.