Commissioner of the City of Miami, Mayor Tomás Regalado, coin-op news, gray area games, video gaming, gambling machines
MIAMI -- The Commissioner of the City of Miami said he plans to call for the resignation of Mayor Tomás Regalado at a Jan. 13 city commission meeting because the mayor last fall reportedly tried to block or delay police raids of locations that operate illegal gambling devices.
Two midlevel city officials said Regalado asked police to hold off on a massive series of raids last October until after the November elections. A few days prior to the raids, the mayor had successfully supported a new licensing of the controversial machines.
Regalado has denied the allegations.
According to the Miami Herald, police said the games in question are illegal slots if they award so much as a free credit to winners, but the arcade industry has claimed for years that the devices are games of skill.
A series of police raids beginning Oct. 25 resulted in the arrests of 28 individuals and the seizure of more than 400 videogames.
