The Bike Casino Raid
Less than 24 hours after being raided and shut down by federal agents, the Bicycle Hotel & Casino in Bell Gardens was reopened Wednesday morning, according to information reportedly provided to the Lo. Shuffle up and deal. California’s Bicycle Casino reopened Wednesday after it was shut down in a government raid at around 7 a.m. Local time on Tuesday. The casino said that it reopened at 3 a.m.
The Bicycle Hotel and Casino in Los Angeles, home to one of the US West Coast’s largest poker rooms, has reopened its doors following a federal raid targeting possible money-laundering activity. The Bike, as it’s popularly known, reopened at 3am PT on Wednesday following nearly a full day of activity, when a multi-agency raid interrupted hundreds of gaming customers, forcing their sudden exit from the Gardena-based facility.
- Federal authorities raided the Bicycle Hotel and Casino in Los Angeles County on Tuesday. Authorities seized thousands of financial records in the raid, seeking evidence of money laundering in an ongoing investigation. Becky Warren, a spokeswoman for the Bicycle Club, said that the business was “cooperating with authorities”.
- 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.
- Welcome to NFBC! Established in 1969, the Niagara Frontier Bicycle Club is Western New York's largest bicycle club, with over 425 active members. The club emphasizes safe and courteous riding in an extremely social environment. We ride at an athletic pace, and we welcome new riders!
A brief message posted on the Bike’s website confirmed the casino’s reopening. “The Bicycle Hotel & Casino is open and in full operation,” started the message. “We are serving our customers and have resumed normal operations. Our priority is to provide a safe and fun environment for our guests.”
The Bike was closed for roughly 20 hours after federal agents entered the venue early Tuesday morning, conducting a search and seizure effort through which thousands of the casino’s financial documents were reportedly obtained. The precise alleged criminal activity and any alleged participants remain unspecified, due to the investigation remaining sealed under court order. What is generally known is that the search-and-seizure is in connection with allegations of “criminal fraud” and possible money-laundering activity. One focus of the investigation is whether the casino willfully assisted certain high-rolling customers in “washing” dirty money through the free exchange and cashing through of the casino’s chips.
According to local LA reports, the amount of paperwork seized was large enough that investigators brought an armored truck to the casino to help transport the possible evidence.
According to Virginia Kice, of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), “The search warrant issued by a United States magistrate judge was filed under seal in relation to an ongoing investigation.” Added Kice, “Because the warrant is under seal, we are not able to comment on the scope or nature of the investigation.”
Officially, Tuesday’s raid was conducted by the Los Angeles High Intensity Financial Crime Area Task Force. That enforcement group includes agents from ICE, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the California Department of Justice (more specifically, the state DOJ’s Bureau of Gambling Control), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
State and federal agents have raided several California casinos and card clubs over the past couple of years, though the Bike is the largest such facility targeted to date. The Bike itself had a strong connection to laundered, dirty money in its earlier history, after federal investigators discovered in 1990 that $12 million of the original $22 million used to build the venue originated with a Florida-based drug smuggling ring. The forfeitures from the resultant case meant that for much of the ’90s, the US government actually owned part of the Bike, until its share was finally sold to a separate gaming company.
The Bike has also been among the most prominent poker facilities in the western US for many years. The casino’s 195-table room hosts around-the-clock cash game action and daily tourneys (both of which were interrupted by the raid), and it has served as a home fo several major traveling series, inckuding both the WPT and the WSOP’s Circuit series. The most recent WSOPC stop at the Bike concluded less than a week ago.
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07 Apr
Poker players at the Bicycle Hotel & Casino were told to leave their chips on the table and exit immediately Tuesday morning by law enforcement who shut down the popular California card room due to allegations of money laundering.
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. The 7 a.m. rousting took many by surprise at one of the most well-known poker rooms in the U.S., the L.A. Times reported.
#BREAKING Federal agents shut down Bicycle Casino & Hotel in Bell Gardens for 'criminal fraud' investigation. More to come..@KNX1070@CBSLApic.twitter.com/JeNCtcpq5o
— Pete Demetriou (@knxpete) April 4, 2017Casino Re-Opens
The shutdown was somewhat brief in nature as the doors re-opened early Wednesday morning, about 20 hours later. The Bike honchos did their best to downplay the incident, releasing a statement in hopes of persuading gamblers to come on back and that business was being conducted as usual.
“We are serving our customers and resuming normal operations immediately. Our priority is to provide a safe and fun environment for our guests.”
No Handcuffs Used
Reports indicate that no arrests were made and that the investigation is ongoing. Financial records were seized by the task force, who were made up of agents from the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the California Department of Justice’s bureau of gambling control, and the U.S. attorney’s office.
Whether its casino employees or gamblers that the Feds are after has not been made clear. Also unknown is whether or not players who were booted out were allowed to reclaim their chips following the card room re-opening.
The Bicycle Casino Raided
Money laundering
Bicycle Casino Raid
Gambling establishments are seen as ideal locations for money laundering by criminals who obtain cash illegally - through drug dealing or other nefarious activities. It isn't the first time a poker room has come under suspicion and you can bet that it won't be the last.
The Bicycle Hotel & Casino came under the microscope of law enforcement officials as far back as 1990 when the IRS and Drug Enforcement Administration alleged that laundered money was behind construction of the casino. A jury agreed in 1991, finding that drug smugglers based in Florida were responsible for millions of dollars of backing.
About The Bike
Located in Bell Gardens, not far from L.A., The Bike offers 185 tables of poker and card games and is home to the WPT Legends of Poker tournament. Cash games known as 'Live at the Bike' are streamed live from the locale. PokerTube readers have seen dozens of videos of that action.
Casino management indicated that full cooperation with the Feds regarding the investigation has been established.