THE Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Finance have launched a crackdown against illegal poker machine operations in the commonwealth.
“We are going to seize those machines and prosecute their owners,” Attorney General Robert T. Torres told Variety on Friday.
According to Torres, there is already a continuing investigation into illegal poker machine operations.
Torres learned about the illegal operation of these machines when he became attorney general.
“And to my knowledge, I have not seen prior cases relating to illegal poker machines. It does not mean that they do not exist,” Torres said. During last week’s Cabinet meeting, Torres disclosed that there were poker machines operating illegally.
Acting Finance Secretary Frank B. Villanueva corroborated the attorney general’s report.
Villanueva said he had found establishments operating poker machines clandestinely.
“We are just starting to beef up the enforcement,” Villanueva told Variety. He does not know the exact number of the illegal poker machines, but he says he intends to trim them down and stop their operations.
