CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Over the past few years, Corpus Christi has become a mecca of game rooms. One law enforcement officer said the game rooms in Corpus Christi are operating illegally and it's time to make it harder for illegal game rooms to stay open.
Chief Deputy David Cook of Operations of the Nueces County Sheriff's Department spoke out about the issue during Wednesday's Nueces County Commissioners meeting.
Cook has been overseeing the permitting process involving game rooms since 2023.
During the Nueces County Commissioners meeting on Wednesday. Dec. 11, Cook addressed the commission during public comment about concerns residents have about the game room ordinance.
He said some citizens in our community feel the ordinance is too restrictive.
"The whole point of the ordinance was to give us some control of those businesses that were opening as game rooms. So, we would have some control over their operations. It was designed to be a difficult process. It was designed to be restrictive," Cook said.
He also told commissioners that people have complained about the distancing portion of the ordinance. The current ordinance prohibits game rooms from operating within 1,500 feet of a residence, church, or school.
"It's an excellent ordinance at times. I think there are some things we can do to strengthen it and make it a better ordinance," Cook said. "One thing I do want to say is that there is not a game room operating in Corpus Christi that is operating within the law.”
Cook explained just because a game room operator has a permit to run a game room, they do not have a permit to make illegal payouts.
"Every game room that operates, that is profitable, that is open is making illegal payouts," Cook said.
Cook said there are five permitted game rooms in Corpus Christi and four of them have already been shut down by the Corpus Christi Police Department for illegal gambling.
He said these game rooms cannot make a profit if they are not paying money out to their customers.
"These businessmen are not genuine legal businessmen. They are men that are trying to turn a profit at the cost of the citizens of Corpus Christi. They're not benefiting anybody. In addition to that, some of these game rooms are connected to larger criminal organizations that function across the state, even internationally," Cook stated.
During an interview Cook gave KRIS 6 News in Sept. 2024, he said one of the last game rooms that was busted was making about $8 million a year.
He encouraged the Commissioners Court to keep the ordinance in place.
He said after the first of the year, he would ask the county attorney’s office to come up with additional amendments to make the current ordinance more restrictive.
