Update Mar 10 10:31 p.m. Both Oaks Card Club and Artichoke Joe’s got permission to reopen Friday.
Earlier post:
Last week, Emeryville’s Oaks Card Club, along with Artichoke Joe’s Casino in San Bruno, was shut down after the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicted an alleged crime ring working out of the gambling establishments on loansharking and narcotics charges.
Today, John Tibbets, the Oaks Card Club owner, tells me there will be a hearing at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow in Sacramento before the state’s Bureau of Gambling Control. The club is hoping to have the emergency closure order lifted.
Tibbets said he had no other statement at this time.
Today, the Chronicle reported that the club’s Asian gaming director, Hoa The Nguyen, 47, of Alameda, was charged with “structuring monetary transactions to avoid detection,” which basically means depositing money in increments of less than $10,000 to skirt federal reporting requirements.