2 Clayton Co. Cafes Busted for Gambling

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. (MyFOX ATLANTA) - Two Clayton County cafes were shut down Tuesday night, accused of operating a gambling hall. Lake City and Clayton County police busted the operations and arrested 21 people.

Police swarmed in on the two businesses early Tuesday night. Both of the businesses are located in the same strip mall on Jonesboro Road.

Investigators said behind the pool tables and vending machines were card games, video poker and cash.

Twenty-one customers of the Café Nho and the nearby Café Eden were hauled off to jail.

Police said both businesses were simply fronts for gambling. Officers seized 19 video poker machines and accused the cafes of paying out cash to winners.

Investigators said customers were also openly playing cards for cash inside Café Nho.

The Lake City police chief called the operations brazen, not for the type or amounts of gambling going on, but the fact both businesses sit just across the street from police headquarters.

The customer arrested face misdemeanor gambling charges. Two employees face felony charges. Other customers who arrived after the busts insisted the cafes serve coffee, not games of chance.

Lake City police said they ran an undercover investigation on the two businesses for three months before the bust.

The police chief said he believed the operations were doing a few thousand dollars a day in gambling.