Illegal gambling centre hid behind a health gym

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that police action in Runnymede, Camden County uncovered a long established illegal gambling parlour titled the Runnymede Social Club in a back room off a health and fitness gym.

The enterprise offered traditional sports betting and poker action, along with online wagering on a website branded 365sportsbetting.com, police said in revealing the results of a sting operation mounted against the business and involving state agents earlier this year.

Thomas Rand (43) pleaded guilty Friday to promoting gambling. In return for the plea, heard before Superior Court Judge John T. Kelley in Camden County, he agreed to probation after serving 270 days in county jail.

Rand admitted to managing the Runnemede Social Club which offered three regulation poker tables and a “cash cage” for purchasing poker chips, along with an online betting website, the Attorney General’s Office said in a news release.

Ryan Dion (33) had earlier pleaded guilty to a similar offence in connection with the business, and faces a recommended sentence of 364 days in county jail and three years of probation.

Three other men, who worked as dealers and cashiers, also have pleaded guilty and will be sentenced October 1.

The Runnymede Social Club ran for about eight years, said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office. When the club was busted, officers seized about $26,000 cash from the players and operators, Aseltine added.

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