Police Defend Crackdown on Jewish Bubbes’ Mahjong Game
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Anne Cohen November 24, 2015
Who needs Sin City when you’ve got Altamonte Springs, Florida?
The mystery of the elderly Jewish mahjong gamblers is slowly unraveling. You might recall that a group of Jewish bubbes saw their regular mahjong get together had been busted by the police for gambling. Following up on that story, The Orlando Weekly reached out the police to get their side of the story.
Lt. Robert Pelton, spokesman for the Altamonte Springs Police Department, defended his department’s actions, specifying that while mahjong itself is legal, the real issue was with the “other gambling-activities happening in the clubhouse.”
“Roulette,” Pelton said. “It was the roulette tables that were making it illegal.”
RELATED: Jewish Bubbes Busted for Mahjong ‘Gambling Den’
The officer added that the police action was “educational,” rather than “punitive.”
“Our investigators had a good, informative meeting with them, telling them the way they can continue to legally have these games,” he said. “If you allow a pot to go over a certain amount, or if the house collects a portion of the pot, it’s illegal, etc.”
Pelton said that things went south because of neighborhood feuds that got out of hand. “They were upset because some neighbors called the police, and then we got called out to be the bad guys, but by no means is that true,” he told the Orlando Weekly.
“It’s a small community, a retirement community, and not all of the neighbors get along. For us, it wasn’t that we were going out there to make arrests and charge people having a good time.”
The question remains: who snitched on our gambling mahjong mavens?
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
