Murray police bust alleged gambling cafe

MURRAY — On Sunday, Murray police executed a search warrant at the Fortune Cyber Cafe, arresting more than 50 people on gambling-related charges.

Murray police detective Kenny Bass said undercover officers had been casing the cafe at 625 W. 5300 South for months before the bust. Bass said the owner or financier for the alleged gambling operation has not been identified or arrested. Six employees were arrested for investigation of charges related to gambling, and more than 45 patrons were cited.

At the cafe, patrons would put money onto a card and then swipe it through a machine connected to a computer and gamble on games such as keno, slots or poker over the Internet, police said. The players' beginning balance and total winnings were pooled separately and Bass said that customers had to exhaust their balance before they could close their account and collect possible winnings.

Bass said the cafe had been operating an illegal Internet gambling system since it began operations but could not provide a specific date the business opened.

— Clayton Norlen