{"id":239255,"date":"2022-10-25T06:24:27","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T11:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=239255"},"modified":"2022-10-25T17:31:23","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T22:31:23","slug":"illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal Gambling Seen in New York\u2019s Columbus Park, Cops Ignore Activity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Illegal gambling appears to be widespread in a popular park in New York City\u2019s Chinatown<\/a> neighborhood, according to published reports. Crowds of high rollers recently were in plain sight playing Pai-Gow poker<\/a>, Chinese blackjack, and other illicit games.<\/p>\n

\"A
A sign for Columbus Park in New York’s Chinatown, pictured above. There is widespread illegal gambling in the park and police appear to ignore the activity, according to news reports. (Image: Flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The New York Post<\/em> reported that New York Police Department (NYPD) officers saw the activity, but are ignoring the obvious gambling in Columbus Park.<\/p>\n

On a recent day, cops were seen watching players with lots of cash on the table, but left without making any arrests.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas-Style Action<\/h2>\n

The pot in some games totaled thousands of dollars, the report said. During one recent week, reporters spotted 10 tents in the park.<\/p>\n

\n

Numerous gamblers were seated at cement and wooden tables. They were taking part in what the Post<\/em> described as \u201cLas Vegas-style action and \u201ccasino-level gambling\u201d that rivals Atlantic City.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The gamblers and dealers risk getting charged. The most minor count could be disorderly conduct. A more serious charge, promoting gambling, could lead to a four-year prison sentence, as well as $5,000 in fines, the Post <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n

The players and dealers assembled in the park speak in Cantonese and other Chinese dialects. Most are middle-aged or in older age ranges.<\/p>\n

When asked about the gambling, Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corp., told the Post<\/em> Chinese New Yorkers often go to the area around the park to eat. Afterward, they gamble. It is a relaxing time after long days working, he explained.<\/p>\n

It was also reported that gambling at the park is more convenient than going to a licensed casino. \u201cPeople don\u2019t like to go to Atlantic City [to gamble], man,\u201d one player from Brooklyn told the Post<\/em>. \u201cIt takes two, three hours to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

If approved, locations such as Times Square<\/a> have been mentioned as possible sites for licensed casinos in New York City.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many city residents are concerned about current gambling activity in the public park. Witnesses have complained about illegal Columbus Park gambling multiple times to the NYPD.<\/p>\n

Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, a watchdog group for the city parks, told the Post<\/em>, \u201cI\u2019ve never seen gambling on this scale in a park before. But I guess like the rest of the city these days, enforcement is really lacking.\u201d<\/p>\n

No Strict Enforcement<\/h2>\n

When reached for comment, Joe Puleo, president of the Local 983 union of District Council 37, which represents park rangers, confirmed that park officers are not strictly enforcing gambling regulations. He claims they are short-staffed and \u201cfollow the lead of the NYPD on such issues,\u201d the Post<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s amazing that so many people are gambling in front of the courts of all places,\u201d <\/strong>he added.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The park is near federal and state courthouses. Various law enforcement agencies have offices nearby, too.<\/p>\n

\n

Meghan Lalor, director of media relations at New York City\u2019s Department of Parks & Recreation, told the Post<\/em> they are \u201caware\u201d of the gambling and are working with the NYPD \u201cto enforce the no-gambling rule at Columbus Park.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Columbus Park was built in 1897 and was originally called \u201cMulberry Bend Park.\u201d In 1911, it was renamed in honor of Christopher Columbus.<\/p>\n

There are numerous athletic spaces in the park, including basketball courts, playgrounds, and soccer fields, so it is frequented by children and families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Illegal gambling appears to be widespread in a popular park in New York City\u2019s Chinatown neighborhood, according to published reports. Crowds of high rollers recently were in plain sight playing Pai-Gow poker, Chinese blackjack, and other illicit games. The New York Post reported that New York Police Department (NYPD) officers saw the activity, but are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":239258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[83435,13766,82549],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIllegal Gambling Seen in New York\u2019s Columbus Park, Cops Ignore Activity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Illegal gambling appears to be widespread in a popular park in New York City\u2019s Chinatown neighborhood. Crowds are playing illicit games.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illegal Gambling Seen in New York\u2019s Columbus Park, Cops Ignore Activity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Illegal gambling appears to be widespread in a popular park in New York City\u2019s Chinatown neighborhood. Crowds are playing illicit games.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-25T11:24:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-25T22:31:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/park-sign.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/\",\"name\":\"Illegal Gambling Seen in New York\u2019s Columbus Park, Cops Ignore Activity\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/park-sign.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-25T11:24:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-25T22:31:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"Illegal gambling appears to be widespread in a popular park in New York City\u2019s Chinatown neighborhood. Crowds are playing illicit games.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/park-sign.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/park-sign.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Illegal Gambling Seen in New York\u2019s Columbus Park, Cops Ignore Activity\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\",\"name\":\"Ed Silverstein\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-6-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-6-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Ed Silverstein\"},\"description\":\"Ed Silverstein is a senior reporter covering gambling law and crime news for Casino.org. Ed is an award-winning journalist with credits ranging from the Associated Press to American Lawyer Media. Ed joined the Casino.org news team in 2019 after decades of experience in legal reporting. His past reporting and editing assignments include Cowles Business Media, Columbia University Press, the Connecticut Post, and Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Besides the law and its application to the gaming industry, Ed\u2019s areas of expertise span business, politics, education, and state and local government. Ed holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and master\u2019s degrees from Harvard and Yale. His professional awards include recognition from the New England Press Association and New England AP News Executives. Ed currently resides in Connecticut, where he enjoys photography and bowling in his spare time. Contact Ed at ed.silverstein@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/ed-silverstein\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgedsilv\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/ed-silverstein\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Illegal Gambling Seen in New York\u2019s Columbus Park, Cops Ignore Activity","description":"Illegal gambling appears to be widespread in a popular park in New York City\u2019s Chinatown neighborhood. Crowds are playing illicit games.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Illegal Gambling Seen in New York\u2019s Columbus Park, Cops Ignore Activity","og_description":"Illegal gambling appears to be widespread in a popular park in New York City\u2019s Chinatown neighborhood. Crowds are playing illicit games.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-10-25T11:24:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-10-25T22:31:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":682,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/park-sign.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ed Silverstein","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgedsilv","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ed Silverstein","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/","name":"Illegal Gambling Seen in New York\u2019s Columbus Park, Cops Ignore Activity","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/park-sign.jpg","datePublished":"2022-10-25T11:24:27+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-25T22:31:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e"},"description":"Illegal gambling appears to be widespread in a popular park in New York City\u2019s Chinatown neighborhood. Crowds are playing illicit games.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/park-sign.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/park-sign.jpg","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illegal-gambling-seen-in-new-yorks-columbus-park-cops-ignore-activity\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Illegal Gambling Seen in New York\u2019s Columbus Park, Cops Ignore Activity"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e","name":"Ed Silverstein","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-6-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-6-1-96x96.png","caption":"Ed Silverstein"},"description":"Ed Silverstein is a senior reporter covering gambling law and crime news for Casino.org. Ed is an award-winning journalist with credits ranging from the Associated Press to American Lawyer Media. Ed joined the Casino.org news team in 2019 after decades of experience in legal reporting. His past reporting and editing assignments include Cowles Business Media, Columbia University Press, the Connecticut Post, and Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Besides the law and its application to the gaming industry, Ed\u2019s areas of expertise span business, politics, education, and state and local government. Ed holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and master\u2019s degrees from Harvard and Yale. His professional awards include recognition from the New England Press Association and New England AP News Executives. Ed currently resides in Connecticut, where he enjoys photography and bowling in his spare time. Contact Ed at ed.silverstein@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/ed-silverstein","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgedsilv"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/ed-silverstein\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239255"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}