Slot machines, poker chips seized from ‘illegal gaming house’ in Burnaby, B.C., RCMP say

Police say several slot machines were seized from the Big Shots Cafe in Burnaby, B.C. (Handout)

Two people have been charged with running an underground gambling operation out of a café in B.C.’s Lower Mainland.

Authorities said they received information that the Big Shots Café, located on East Hastings Street in Burnaby, was being used as an “illegal gaming house” back in 2022.

The province’s anti-gang task force, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said officers raided the business in July 2023, seizing a variety of equipment including slot machines, cards, poker chips, a gaming table, ledgers and approximately $14,000 in cash.

The CFSEU’s Joint Illegal Gaming Investigation Team also arrested 10 people at the café, and another at his home. On Monday, the B.C. Prosecution Service approved charges against two men.

Vancouver resident Francisco Batista Pires, 62, and Burnaby resident Angelo Giuseppe Freda, 60, are each charged with keeping a common gaming house.

“An illegal gaming house can fuel a cycle of crime that harms individuals, destabilizes communities, and strengthens organized crime networks by providing them with both a financial base and a pool of vulnerable individuals to exploit,” said the CFSEU’s Cpl. Sarbjit K. Sangha, in a statement.

This isn’t the first time authorities have broken up an alleged gambling operation at Big Shots Café. Officers said they seized slot machines, poker tables and other gambling paraphernalia during a raid in July 2020, which led to charges against four men, including Pires.

Both Pires and Freda are scheduled to appear in Vancouver provincial court on April 7.