2 men arrested for operating illegal casino in Port Charlotte

Two men were arrested Monday after they were caught operating an illegal casino in Port Charlotte. According to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, detectives began an operation at the Showtime Casino at 3012 Tamiami Trail after receiving numerous tips and complaints that illegal slot machine gambling was taking place at the location. The sheriff's office first went to Arcade's headquarters at 1152 Tamiami Trail, where they saw illegal gaming taking place within the business. The employee who worked inside was issued a summons because he was an employee of a gambling house, CCSO said. Other area casinos reportedly began telling customers to leave and closed their doors. Shortly afterward, detectives went to the Showtime Casino, where they noticed two employees taking turns monitoring both sides of the road as lookouts. They were also seen locking the door after each customer entered and exited. Detectives witnessed illegal gambling inside the casino on the slot machines. According to CCSO, detectives warned everyone to leave the casino after seeing illegal gambling taking place inside on the slot machines. The two men who run the casino, Mevin Rodriguez, 28, and Amey Naik, 30, were arrested. They both face a misdemeanor charge of being agents or employees of a gambling house. On July 1, the charge for keeping or working at a gambling house in Florida will be reduced from a misdemeanor to a third degree felony.