A Utah man is facing criminal charges after local authorities busted his illegal gambling operation he was using to make $8 million a year.

An undercover investigation that spanned several months culminated with the arrest of Saif Al-Fatlawi, a business owner in Salt Lake City who had several gambling machines in his local convenient stores.

The investigation revealed that Al-Fatlawi was making $23,000 a day in cash from his illegal gambling operation. All forms of gambling are illegal in Utah.

Al-Fatlawi was arrested earlier this year and is now formally facing charges from the Salt Lake County District Attorneys office. Those charges include money laundering, transferring firearms and possession or use of controlled substances.

District Attorney Sim Gill told the local Fox affiliate that Al-Fatlawis stores were just a faade for his gambling operation, which was the main source of his revenue.

What we had here was multiple locations serving as a store front, gambling establishments where the primary source of revenue really was engaging in gambling, said Gill.

When police raided his store, they found the machines located both at the front of the store and in the basement. Despite the five-figure estimates of his daily take, police only claimed to have seized slightly more than $9,000 in cash.

The gambling charges he is facing are low level, but they led to the other more serious accusations. According to detectives, guns were thrown out of the window were performing a search warrant in Al-Fatlawis apartment.

There are nine other people listed in the report as employees or associates of Al-Fatlawi, but none have been arrested yet.

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Utah Man Arrested For Illegal Gambling Ring That Netted $8 Million A Year - CardPlayer.com