Feds seize Chinatown gambling den site in $17M forfeiture

A Chinatown building busted by the federal government for housing an infamous gambling den will be forfeited for $17 million, the New York Post reported.

The illicit operation was housed in a six-story building at 35-57 East Broadway, the Post said. The government struck a deal to take over ownership last week. 65 percent of the proceeds of the sale will go to the Department of Homeland Security; the building’s former owner, Won & Har Realty Corporation, will pocket the rest, the Post said.

A May 2012 raid led to 11 arrests for the operation of illegal pai gow poker games, computer slot machines and other betting activity, the Post said. At the time, a Manhattan federal judge ruled that the building was subject to forfeiture as the landlord was “willfully blind” to the gambling.

The building even brazenly sported a large front door sign that read “Gambling,” the feds noted. [NYP] — Julie Strickland