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SALT LAKE CITY — The owner and the assistant manager of a Fairpark area convenience store were charged Friday with operating gambling machines in their store.
Michelle Marcoux, 35, and Michael Shermer, 38, of Salt Lake City, are each charged in 3rd District Court with the crime of “providing a form of internet or online gambling,” a third-degree felony.
In May, Salt Lake police served a search warrant at Rose Park Convenience, 824 W. North Temple. Shermer, the assistant manager, was asked about gambling machines located inside the store.
“Shermer said there were two gambling machines in a back room of the store known as ‘the fish game’ and two more gambling machines known as ‘Play from home’ and ‘Nudge’ in the store which players can play from their phones,” according to charging documents. “Shermer stated he had paid cash to patrons of the machines in exchange for points that patrons earned on the machines.”
Two undercover detectives went to the store and played the fish game.
“A player inserts an amount of cash into the machine and uses various buttons on the gaming machine to play. These gaming machines are based on a game of chance. Once the player has determined they are done playing the gaming machine, if there is a dollar amount left showing on the machine, whether positive or negative from the initial amount placed into the machine, the player asks one of the employees/associates of the business to redeem,” according to the search warrant.
One detective reported winning $5 after putting $10 into the machine.
Shermer told police that the store’s owner, Marcoux, told him not say anything about the machines, according to the charges.
After taking inventory of the store, detectives “located items associated with gambling, such as two gambling machines, payout receipts, a pull log money sheet, a note with cash from tills, a money counting machine, and $19,281 in cash,” according to the charges.
A warrant was issued for Marcoux’s arrest on Friday, with prosecutors noting in court documents that she “does not have a known address.”