The Bike Casino Raid
The Los Angeles High Intensity Financial Crime Area Task Force administered the raid on 'The Bike' with search warrant in hand, blocking both parking lot entrances and ushering gamblers to the door. Rousting took many by surprise at one of the most well-known poker rooms in. This week, the Bicycle Casino was raided and shut down for nearly 24 hours by federal authorities over suspected money laundering happening inside the property. According to Steve Stallings.
Federal agents served a search warrant at the Bicycle Hotel & Casino in Bell Gardens allegedly as part of a criminal fraud investigation, shutting it down April 4, reported CBSLA.com.
#BREAKINGNEWS: Feds confirm search warrant served at Bicycle Casino & Hotel in Bell Gardens https://t.co/3dd0XS2Sjuhttps://t.co/5gRVMfGpNM
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA)
HLS/ICE leading multi agency raid/Bicycle Casino, Bell Gardens. Poss fraud/money laundering. @CBSLA @KCBSKCALDesk… https://t.co/PwnoRYsfrf
— Mark Dunn (@mobile2markdunn)Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations confirmed the raid to CBSLA, but would not comment further on the investigation.
KNX 1070 reporter Pete Demetriou broke the news on Twitter.
#BREAKING Federal agents shut down Bicycle Casino & Hotel in Bell Gardens for 'criminal fraud' investigation. More… https://t.co/guG0F7bU0a
— Pete Demetriou (@knxpete)Updated
#BicycleClub #FederalRaid 6 agencies close Casino action as criminal fraud probe goes on. Armored Car picks up evid… https://t.co/Z1MUgDCkGy
— Pete Demetriou (@knxpete)Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles, said in a statement that 'a search warrant issued by a United States magistrate judge was filed under seal in relation to an ongoing investigation,' but could not comment 'on the scope or nature of the investigation' because of the seal on the warrant.
The warrant is being executed today by members of the Los Angeles High Intensity Financial Crime Area Task Force, which includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations; IRS Criminal Investigation; the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Gambling Control; and the United States Attorney's office.
According to law enforcement sources who were familiar with the situation, the investigation was focused on whether Bicycle's gambling club was used to launder cash illegally obtained, reported the Los Angeles Times. In other words, this investigation should discover if gamblers used dirty money at the tables in exchange for clean money.
Kenneth Taylor, a regular Paigow player at the casino, told the Los Angeles Times the casino had not been evacuated. A casino employee was reportedly told that the casino floor would reopen at a later date so he could cash out chips.
IRS briefs media at Bicycle Casino. Warrant served/ongoing invst,no further info. @KCBSKCALDesk @CBSLA @KNX1070… https://t.co/rG6WTwLhNb
— Mark Dunn (@mobile2markdunn)Bicycle Hotel & Casino provided a comment midday through its public relations firm.
'We are working with authorities and currently do not have additional information,' the statement said. 'As soon as the federal agents have completed their work, we will be in full operation.'
Sources: @BicycleCasino raid related to possible complicity in laundering money for small # of individuals. Player money said to be safe.
— Todd Witteles (@ToddWitteles)The casino will be closed until the completion of the investigation, possibly Tuesday or Wednesday, said authorities to KTLA.
Agents entered the casino around 7 a.m. and proceeded to tell guests to stop playing and keep their hands away from the tables, said a casino restaurant employee to KTLA.
Federal investigators remove boxes of evidence from Bicycle Hotel and Casino. https://t.co/9PPYhWm8GV
— Carlos Granda (@abc7carlos)On April 4, the Bicycle Casino tweeted that they would reopen at 3 AM:
The Bicycle Hotel & Casino will be open and in full operation at 3am. https://t.co/YU5R8GP3Oh
— Bicycle Hotel Casino (@BicycleCasino)Lead image courtesy of courtesy of Pete Demetriou and KNX 1070
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Bicycle Hotel & CasinoBicycle Casino
| The Bicycle Hotel & Casino | |
|---|---|
| Address | 888 Bicycle Casino Drive Bell Gardens, California 90201 |
| Opening date | November 30, 1984 |
| Casino type | Land |
| Previous names | The Bicycle Casino |
| Renovated in | 2015 (Hotel Addition) |
| Website | www.thebike.com |
The Bicycle Hotel & Casino (commonly, 'The Bike') is a pokercardroom in California.[1]
Founded by George Hardie Sr. in 1984, located in Bell Gardens, California, The Bicycle Casino offers a selection of poker games and Asian games, with a wide range of limits. The casino features games including: Blackjack, Texas Hold 'Em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha hold 'em, Mexican Poker, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker and Baccarat (card game).
Financing to build the original Bicycle Club casino was provided by Sam Gilbert, who allegedly used money partially obtained from laundering drug money.[2] The casino is home to the Legends of Poker, a tournament series established in 1995 that now includes a stop on the World Poker Tour. Prior to the Legends, the casino's main tournament series was called the Diamond Jim Brady.[3]
Seizure and indictment[edit]
In 1987, Sam Gilbert was the subject of a federal investigation into money laundering and racketeering charges. According to the investigation, a scheme to launder the money received from smuggling marijuana was put together to finance the construction of the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California.[2][4] According to one criminal complaint,
'[Sam Gilbert] a wealthy Los Angeles businessman, was the first Gilbert to establish ties with the Kramer family when he befriended Benjamin Kramer's father, Jack Kramer, in 1978. At that time, Jack Kramer and Sam Gilbert came up with the idea of building a legal card club for the purposes of laundering Benjamin Kramer's dirty money. By 1983, Sam Gilbert was in contact with David Pierson, who was himself thinking of building a card club and was looking for legitimate investors. Pierson gave Sam Gilbert a prospectus, Sam liked what he saw, and Sam agreed to arrange the financing for the project in return for a sixty percent share of Pierson's ownership interest in the Club.'[5]
Gilbert was indicted in Miami 4 days after his death.[6] His son Michael also was indicted.
The U.S. Government seized the casino in April, 1990, after a jury found that $12 million of the $22 million used in its construction came from Florida drug smugglers.[7] The club's profits were frozen and placed in a special U.S. Marshals account until the court held a civil hearing to determine which partners knew that the club was built with drug money.
George Hardie and The Park Place Associates ownership were exonerated in 1990, and they regained their 35% stake.[8]
In July 1991 a Florida federal judge ruled that at least one of the partners, former Los Angeles Westside banker M. Dale Lyon, knew about the club's financing. Eight other partners in the LCP Associates, the partnership named for Lyon, Coyne and Pierson, agreed to forfeit portions of their interest in the club before the civil hearing began. LCP partners Julianne Coyne and former California Assemblyman David C. Pierson settled before the civil hearing. In 1991, they agreed to give up about half of their interest in LCP, which had a 65% stake in the casino.[7]
By the time it sold its share of the casino in 1996, the US government had made tens of millions of dollars in profit from its share of the casino. As a partner in the club, the government also contributed to political campaigns to defeat the proposal to build a rival card club in Orange County.[9]
2017 raid[edit]
The casino was again raided by federal authorities citing money laundering as a part of an ongoing investigation into some players using the casino to exchange “dirty money” for chips, then turn cashing those in for “clean money.”[10]
Live at the Bike[edit]
Bicycle Casino Raid
The Bicycle Hotel & Casino was the first brick and mortar casino to broadcast a live poker cash game over the Internet in a program known as Live at the Bike.[11] It runs five nights a week, and features poker pros, celebrities and regular cash grinders. The show has always had card graphics and professional commentary making it one of the longest running poker shows ever.
Expansion[edit]
The Bicycle Hotel & Casino underwent a major hotel expansion in the Fall of 2015. The new seven-story, 117,907 square-foot complex now includes live entertainment, gaming, cocktail lounge, brewery, fitness center, sundeck with an outdoor bar, and a number of places to dine.[12]
In popular media[edit]
The Bicycle Casino was featured in an episode of the TV series Numb3rs dealing with the murder of a successful card-counter, who coincidentally was also heavily into bicycle home repair.[13]
See also[edit]
Bike Casino Reopening
References[edit]
The Bike Casino
- ^'The Bicycle Hotel & Casino'.
- ^ abGLENN F. BUNTING and TINA GRIEGO - Miami Trial Gives Startling New Portrait of Sam Gilbert. Los Angeles Times, April 23, 1990
- ^'Bicycle Casino Review - The Bike'.
- ^GLENN F. BUNTING. Investors Face High-Stakes Battle for Casino Profits. Los Angeles Times, May 29, 1990
- ^44 F3d 888 United States of America v. Michael Gilbert244 F.3d 888 (11th Cir. 2001)
- ^WILLIAM OVEREND and WILLIAM NOTTINGHAM - Sports Figure Is Indicted--4 Days After Death. Los Angeles Times, November 26, 1987
- ^ abGriego, Tina. Forfeiture Laws Give U.S. a Piece of a Casino : Narcotics: Government now owns about 30% of Bicycle Club in Bell Gardens, which was built to a large extent with smuggled drug money. Los Angeles Times, August 22, 1990
- ^Griego, Tina. Court Clears Casino Manager and Partners : George G. Hardie and his financial partners will regain ownership rights to the profitable Bicycle Club in Bell Gardens. Los Angeles Times, October 04, 1990
- ^U.S. to Sell Share of Bicycle Casino for $25 Million
- ^KTLA.com: Bicycle Hotel and Casino in Bell Gardens Raided by Federal Authorities
- ^LA Times: Building a $1-million poker game for 'Live at the Bike'
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2015-03-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'Double Down'. 13 January 2006 – via IMDb.
The Bicycle Casino Raided
External links[edit]
Coordinates: 33°57′59″N118°09′58″W / 33.966312°N 118.166148°W