Authorities say arrests will be forthcoming following the recent seizure of more than three dozen illegal gambling machines and more than $2,400 cash from a mobile home-turned-casino in Tucker, Texas.

Representatives of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office; the Anderson County Mutual Aid Drug Task Force; and the Anderson County district attorney’s office executed a search warrant at a mobile home on U.S. 79 near the intersection of CR 2123 in Tucker, according to Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor.

Authorities were acting on information provided by a private citizen, according to the sheriff.

Upon entering the “casino” described as a “gutted” double-wide mobile home, Taylor said authorities discovered roughly 15 patrons playing illegal gambling machines, including eight-liners, video poker and keno.

Two people – a 48-year-old Kemp man and a 50-year-old Elkhart woman – believed to be the organizers of the game were also present, the sheriff added.

“All the walls – with the exception of the bathroom – had been taken out,” and the machines were positioned along the walls of the mobile home, Taylor said.

The machines were “set up to take money” of multiple denominations, including up to $100 bills, according to the sheriff.

Seized by authorities were 39 gambling machines, more than $2,400 cash, four outside surveillance cameras and a firearm, according to Taylor.

The money was recovered from the machines, a cash box and the pockets of the two people alleging operating the “casino,” the sheriff stated. The largest bill found in one of the devices was a $20, he added.

Two patrons were arrested on theft by check warrants, authorities said, but no one has yet been charged in connection with the alleged “casino”.

There was no evidence of alcohol or drugs inside the “casino,” according to Taylor.

The game’s organizers could eventually be charged with the Class A misdemeanor offense of keeping a gambling place, according to Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe.

However, if authorities believe additional people were involved in organizing the games and sharing the proceeds, the suspects could face the felony charge of engaging in organized criminal activity, the district attorney added.

Lowe pointed out that local law enforcement authorities have now investigated three casino-type operations in Anderson County over the past 20 months, including one located in Palestine Plaza.

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