Quebec Poker Room Closed After Criminal Allegations

Author: Sean Chaffin | Fact checker: Luciano Passavanti · Updated: · Ad Disclosure
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A poker room in the Kahnawake area near Montreal was closed down last week by authorities with the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) community. Kahnawake officers entered the property on March 25 and ordered players to leave and shut down the poker room and a restaurant on site.

The move came after the property allegedly continued operating electronic gaming devices without a legal contract and also faced criminal investigations.

“The effect of this directive is that Magic Palace must immediately close all of its gaming operations – including both electronic gaming devices and poker room tables – pending further decision by the commission,” the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) noted.

The KGC was established in 1996 and licenses and regulates both online gaming and land-based gaming within Kahnawà:ke since. The commission noted that Magic Palace no longer had a contractual agreement with the Mohawk Council to operate the games. The commission also alleged that the poker room and restaurant were being “used to commit money laundering and other crimes.”

“The results of the investigation revealed that there was an undisclosed beneficial owner of Magic Palace, who is non-Kanien’kehá:ka, who exercised significant degrees of control over the establishment and received the majority of the benefits,” the KGC said.

The move was “based on numerous concerns arising out of investigations conducted over the past several months,” according to the commission. Tribal leaders expressed regret at having to close the property.

“Closing a community business is always a last resort,” Gaming Portfolio Chief Cody Diabo said. However, the allegations of conduct that were revealed in court records created serious concerns for the MCK, as it is our most important responsibility as a governing body to protect the health and safety of our community.”

Magic Palace owners plan on appealing the ruling and argue that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police gave the commission inaccurate information regarding an investor from Montreal named Luftar Hysa, who also owns casinos in Mexico.

“They’ve (allegations) been there for about a year, and it stems from the fact that Mr. Hysa, who’s an investor, had some allegations made in Mexico where he has some casinos,” he told CTV. “Mr. Hysa has been completely cleared and it was clear that these allegations were made because people in the same business wanted Mr. Hysa out of the business.”

The casino’s attorney, Pierre L’Ecuyer, said the poker room’s operators run a clean business and will appeal to the Quebec Superior Court if needed.

“There’s no criminal infraction whatsoever, no prostitution, no loansharking, nothing that ever came since Magic Palace has been in place,” he said.

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Author

Sean Chaffin is a longtime freelance writer, editor, and former high school journalism teacher. A journalism graduate of Texas A&M University, his work has appeared in numerous publications and websites. Sean has covered the gaming and poker industry for many years and also writes about about numerous other topics.