Boomers in Port Charlotte busted for gambling, lottery operations

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.- The popular restaurant and bar Boomers has been busted for gambling.

Undercover agents with the Division of Alcohol, Beverages and Tobacco found slot machines, Texas Hold ‘Em Poker and lottery operations going on inside. After almost a year long investigation, three owners were arrested.

“I was very shocked. My wife was hysterical crying,” said Andrew Kontos, a co-owner of Boomers, arrested on May 29.

Kontos, his wife and his brother, all co-owners of Boomers, were arrested for the illegal gambling and sent to jail for nine hours before bonding out.

“You can go anywhere in town, drive down on a street and you’ll find plenty of places that have all kinds of devices for fun,” said Kontos.

He said it’s unfair that only his restaurant was targeted.

“Last year I complained because we didn’t have any of this stuff and we were losing a lot of business because they were going down the street to another place and they can, you know, play on these games and drink for free and then win money,” said Kontos.

Kontos tells WINK News he decided, ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’ So he too had the machines brought in by an outside company.

According to the arrest report, undercover agents went to the business two to three times a month to play the machines and ask employees about the poker games. One night a Boomers employee saw the agents in their vehicles. The next time the agents went in, all the machines were gone.

The three owners are facing multiple charges and will go before a judge later this month. They say they hope none of this will affect business and Boomers will not be closing.