A local minimart will pay $6,000 for operating illegal gambling machines
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MEDIA COURTHOUSE – A Ridley Park food market will pay $6,000 in fines for operating illegal gambling machines after entering a negotiated guilty plea before Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Scanlon Monday.
Ganesh Food Mart LLC, doing business as Pantry 1 Food Mart at 609 Chester Pike, will pay $1,000 for each of six devices seized by investigators and forfeit any proceeds the machines brought in, under the plea worked out by Assistant District Attorney Amy Cappelli and defense counsel Michael Fienman.
Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division Detective John Hoffner began an investigation into video gaming devices available for play at Pantry 1 in May 2018, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Hoffner and other investigators visited the business several times between December 2020 and May 2021, playing various games and sometimes winning cash payouts, the affidavit says. The machines accepted bill denominations up to $100 and enabled “rapid play,” according to Hoffner. Customers were able to take printed payout slips from the machines to the register to collect their winnings.
“The forgoing video gaming devices (VGD) were identified as games of chance in that they were ‘slot machine’ style games with no discernable skill game component observed or available to your affiant,” the affidavit says. “…These VGDs are set up, maintained, and are being utilized for unlawful gambling purposes.”
Hoffner and other law enforcement executed a search warrant at Pantry 1 on June 10 and seized nine machines, according to the affidavit, along with more than $7,800 in cash associated with the illegal machines.
