Cops raid gaming rooms in Seminole

Computers, equipment, cash seized
at two gaming rooms run by Allied Veterans of the World

Gary Taylor
Sentinel Staff Writer
Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel
Friday, August 21, 2009

LONGWOOD: Longwood police and Seminole County deputies raided two gaming operations Thursday, seizing computers, equipment and cash.

Both are operated by Allied Veterans of the World, which says it runs a sweepstakes and not gambling ventures, and are among as many as 70 in Florida, Longwood police Sgt. Richard Griffin said. Many are open around the clock.

But investigators with the two agencies, guided by the Office of Statewide Prosecution, were able to build enough of a case to secure search warrants for an Internet cafe in a shopping center at U.S. Highway 17-92 and State Road 434 in Longwood and another on S.R. 436 west of Altamonte Springs.

"We've been receiving complaints about this place since it opened in January of this year," Griffin said of the Longwood operation.

No arrests were made Thursday after investigators encountered only low-level employees. Griffin expects charges to be filed against the people behind the operations, he said.

But other agencies throughout Central Florida have left the businesses alone until the Florida Legislature closes the sweepstakes loophole in state laws.

"They're gambling places in every sense of the word," Volusia County sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "We feel like our hands are tied. I'm not aware of any successful prosecution."

But Griffin is adamant that his agency and the Seminole County Sheriff's Office will be able to make charges stick and that the state agency will be able to prosecute.

Customers keep coming

A steady stream of customers stopped by the Longwood location Thursday afternoon, many of them unaware of the raid. A letter from the Longwood Police Department was posted on the door explaining why it was closed.

One of those visitors was Joe Steffens of Sanford.

"I'm one of the regulars," he said.

But Thursday morning, for the first time, he decided to drive to the cafe in the Forest City area and was inside when deputies raided it. He had won $275 but had to leave without his money. He said he called Allied Veterans of the World headquarters and was assured he would get his money.

According to the group's Web site, anyone can receive 100 free points to a sweepstakes, with prizes of up to $5,000, each day and get another 100 sweepstakes entries for each five minutes of Internet time purchased. It says there are free hot dogs and free sodas but doesn't say how much the Internet time costs.

None of the players outside the Longwood location seemed to know how much they paid. One said he thought it was a dollar for five minutes, and another said he thought $5 would buy 90 minutes to two hours of time.

A spokeswoman for Allied Veterans of the World did not return calls.

"I've been playing here since it opened," said Dale Martin of Casselberry. Winning money isn't the most important thing, he said. "People come here to make friends."

Cathie Templo, whose family operates Star Nails next door, said the cafe doesn't cause any problems and she even gets a little walk-in business from it. It does draw so many customers that it fills the parking lot in front of her business, she said.

Regular says he's happy

And then there's Willie Demps, who said he is happy the place was shut down.

"I'm here three times a day, sometimes," he said. "I'm a recovering drug addict, and this is just about as bad or worse. After I get my check and pay my bills, I spend it all. I wish they would close them all down."

He is happy it was closed but admitted: "If the door opened right now, I'd go back in."

Then he got in a car for a ride to a similar business in east Orange County.