LAPD targeting underground casinos in the Valley
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The caravan of black-and-whites and undercover police vehicles rolled slowly north on Vesper Avenue in the early evening darkness, then took a right onto busy Vanowen Street in the heart of Van Nuys.
They rumbled on toward their target: An unassuming unit in a street-facing strip mall, in the 14500 block of Vanowen, its windows blacked out.
Inside, they believed, was an illegal, underground casino. How many people might be in there, they didn’t know.
The officers, armed with a search warrant, pulled up in front of the building and jumped out. Through a loudspeaker, they ordered everyone out.
No response.
Using a battering ram, one officer smashed through the front door of the makeshift casino with others following to swarm inside.
They pulled people out, detaining about three dozen, leaving them cuffed and lined up against a wall in an alley, mostly men, in their 20s to perhaps 50s.
“He fell from the ceiling,” an officer said over police radios, calmly — perhaps not the first time police have witnessed something like this.
“You get some guys trying to flee,” said Sgt. R.B. Parsekhian, the investigator coordinating the raid. “That’s why we plan to cover all the exits.”
Similar scenes have played out across the Valley, especially in the last three years, as Los Angeles police have sought to stem the tide of illegal, makeshift casinos, mostly operated by gangs, they say, offering gambling and drugs.
Local police commanders said they can almost spot these locations just from the pattern of crime that surrounds them — shoplifting, thefts from vehicles, armed robberies and assaults.
Police say they believe the people who frequent these establishments often commit petty crimes for money to buy drugs, or to continue playing poker or video slot machines. Just one location can pull in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit each month.
Inside, accused gang members often provide patrons a variety of services.
“Drugs, guns, prostitution — it’s just a crime den,” said Lt. Marc Evans, the vice coordinator for the Valley Division.
In this particular gambling operation, Evans said, what likely drew in customers was the “fish game” — players gather around an arcade-looking game, with a screen on top and bet on their ability to shoot fish at a target by pushing buttons.
“It’s a game of skill, but it’s basically just betting,” Evans said.
Sometimes, the proceeds can go to local gangs, who answer to Mexican Mafia bosses operating inside Los Angeles County’s jail system. At least some of the money ends up with the gang’s international backers, police say.
“We believe the money is being funneled to Ukraine,” Evans said.
Police have long rooted out these locations, but in recent years have “increased the urgency” to take down as many of them as they can, Evans said.
In 2018, one dispute at a Van Nuys casino near Ventura Boulevard led to a shootout between two friends that left one man dead. In another incident that year, bullets from a shooting at a casino in North Hollywood lodged inside the home of a woman nearby.
LAPD officers keep on the lookout for telltale signs.
“Patrolling officers might see activity at a place with no sign, no apparent reason to see a lot of people going in and out,” said Lt. Bob Schlesinger, who commands gang investigators in the Valley. “And then when we know there’s a lot of criminal activity around there — there might be a casino.”
This operation, on Sept. 29, would be the 10th such takedown for Parsekhian. He said in some respects finding casinos comes down to “instinct.”
Before they set off for this raid, about two dozen officers and detectives gathered in the briefing room at the LAPD station in Van Nuys. An investigator went over the plan — a Google Maps image was used to show the front of the business. They would be looking for an older man dubbed “Abuelo,” “grandfather” in Spanish.
About 30 minutes later, the team was busting in the front door of the casino that was disguised as an internet cafe. Residents from nearby gathered across the street, looking on as officers brought patrons outside.
Most of those detained would be cited and released — unless officers saw them gambling, they can’t be charged with that crime.
Others on parole or probation could be taken to back to jail, however, and the operators of the location would face stiffer charges.
The violence tied to casinos has led LAPD to launch more investigations into the casinos.
Last year, in the Valley alone, vice detectives and SWAT teams hit 48 casinos, typically in commercial buildings. This year, by September, they were already nearing 80 such raids.
“It’s just that big of a problem,” Schlesinger said.
