Visible action has been enacted in recent weeks to quell the prevalence of illegal activity allegedly taking shape in Southeast Texas “game rooms,” venues akin to mini casinos, packed with 8-liner machines and suspected illicit gambling. However, as revealed by owners of scattered site 8-liner purveyors in businesses such as convenience stores and smoke shops, as well as the first responders called to those same places of business, 8-liner activity can be found pervasive in Beaumont – as can the detrimental effects of the alleged criminal enterprises.
Shahzaib Nizamani, a Crosby resident and local business owner, stood before the Beaumont City Council on June 3 to advocate on behalf of 65 local businesses invested in accessory gaming machines, also known as 8-liners.
“We are here collectively to speak against the banning of accessory gaming machines,” said Shahzaib Nizamani, explaining that 8-liner style gaming machines provide supplemental income, and without them, “we are at risk of losing many small businesses.”
According to Nizamani, the group collectively pays approximately $520,000 for application fees, city decals per accessory gaming machine, and employee badges – all paid directly to the city of Beaumont. City Attorney Sharae Reed said money paid for 8-liner regulation does not enrich the municipality; funds from 8-liner regulatory costs only cover the costs of regulating the industry, including equipment, labor and supplies.
According to Reed, a cash counter was among neccessary purchases once business owners presented city personnel with thousands of dollars in cash to pay fees. “$20,000 is a lot of cash to count,” said Reed.
Despite significant fees invoked by the gaming group, 8-liners allegedly generate minimal profit for the businesses themselves. Mohammad Arshad, a local business owner who addressed the Beaumont Planning Commission on May 19, said that, after paying thousands in fees and regulatory costs, “each store makes merely enough to cover the wage of a single employee” — sharply contradicting the financial hardship Nizamani described.
“We are all small business owners who have left larger cities to come to Beaumont to invest, to start our business; a lot of us live here locally,” Nizamani said, adding that he hoped to continue “investing in the great city of Beaumont.”
Following his statements, Daniel Nizamani pleaded with the council not to “punish law-abiding citizens and businesses over the actions of a few bad actors.”
However, for the Nizamanis, the violence and crime that accompany the cash-heavy operation of 8-liner management is far more personal than their public remarks suggest.
Shahzaib Nizamani owns J&S Beaumont LLC, which operates Pick N Shop at 870 S. Major Dr. in Beaumont – a convenience store known for its gaming machines and large amounts of cash on hand. April 29, 2015, that store became the scene of a murder when 52-year-old store owner Mettha Kurrupu was shot and killed during a robbery. According to public record, Kurrupu was counting his till when two armed men entered. After pressing the panic button and attempting to defend himself, Kurrupu was shot twice in the chest; he left behind a wife and two daughters. The murder was caught on surveillance video. Chandler Ventress later confessed, was convicted of capital murder, and sentenced to life in prison.
Even closer to home for the Nizamanis, the family-owned Barrett Grocery store in Barrett Station — another accessory gaming location — was the site of another deadly encounter Oct. 8, 2015. Shahzaib and his cousin, the late Javed Nizamani, were both shot after an altercation with a customer who refused to leave. Javed later died at the hospital, leaving behind a wife and two children.
Now a convicted murderer, Joseph Colone was fingered as participating in aggravated robbery at a 4th street 8-liner business June 24, 2010, and later killed attendant Mary Goodman and her daughter, Briana, at their home while the accused thief was out on parole for the aggravated robbery charge. Goodman allegedly identified Colone as the robber.
“He walked in, again wearing a mask,” said Jefferson County Prosecutor Pat Knauth. “Then, he robbed the patrons there, the two store owners, the two clerks that were there — he pistol-whipped one of them and held them at gunpoint. Later, he made them strip off their shoes and their pants and made them lay on top of each other.”
To this day, violence continues to surround clandestine gaming operations. Feb. 16, Beaumont resident Mitchell Joseph Sylvester, masked and armed with a machete, robbed the gaming site at 1165 S. 11th Street. According to the probable cause affidavit for his arrest, Sylvester later confessed to Officer John Campbell of the Beaumont Police Department. A Jefferson County grand jury indicted Sylvester on March 5 for a first-degree felony charge of aggravated robbery. If convicted, Sylvester faces 5 to 99 years or life in prison.
According to Port Arthur Chief of Police Tim Duriso, the statistics involving crime and 8-liners don’t always tell the full story: “A lot of times, a victim of a crime at a game room doesn’t report it, and I guess the question would be, ‘If they don’t report it, how do you know it happened?’”
Duriso said, many times, patrons of 8-liner play have approached him and his officers to report that a third party was robbed or assaulted at a game room, but they didn’t want to report it because of other illegal activity going on at the establishment.
Despite mounting evidence of the danger posed at businesses featuring 8-liner play, the Beaumont City Council voted 4-3 on June 3 to table a long-awaited decision on whether to repeal Article 6 of the city’s Code of Ordinances — a move that would ban 8-liner machines within the city limits. The vote followed months of public debate, legal review and mounting pressure from both concerned citizens and business owners.
Council has discussed several possible compromises; the city could allow existing game rooms to continue operating while halting the issuance of new permits; the city could allow current permits to expire naturally without renewal; or the city could enact a full ban. The matter is expected to resurface on a future agenda.
In Beaumont, many businesses featuring 8-liners are located in poverty-stricken neighborhoods where residents gamble hoping for quick financial relief. If legally operated, all money poured into 8-liners is for naught; no cash payouts are legal. Illegal cash payouts, which could bring the fiscal relief hoped for when the gamble is made, are also credited with being a beacon to draw in criminals seeking fast cash, as demonstrated by the repeated violent incidents connected to the Nizamanis and others.
Beyond the physical danger, gambling often escalates into addiction. Problem gambling, or gambling disorder, is a recognized mental health condition that affects people of all demographics. Financial loss is only one consequence. Gambling addiction often leads to broken families, job loss, mental health crises and criminal behavior. The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that around 5 million Americans suffer from compulsive gambling, yet only 8% seek help. The broader social cost in the U.S. is estimated at $14 billion annually.
Slot machines, like the 8-liners found in Beaumont’s game rooms, convenience stores and smoke shops, are touted among the most addictive forms of gambling. According to addictionhelp.com, 75% of problem gamblers play slots.
“When I first went to the Cherry station (1595 North Major Dr.), I asked them if they paid out and the lady behind the counter told me no, so I told her, well I heard you do, but okay. She got on the phone and called her boss and he told her to tell me yes, they do — I know for a fact they do pay out because I play there,” an anonymous source said in an exclusive interview with The Examiner. “I really think they should shut them all down, because I think these machines are rigged. Just up the road at the intersection of Gladys and North Major their jackpot is up to $10,000 on one of the machines, but they have a sign there saying the highest this machine will pay out is $2,500.”
According to the Jefferson County Game Room Regulations effective Nov. 9, 2021, Jefferson County Commissioners findings state: “Illicit Game Rooms, as a category of commercial uses, are associated with a wide variety of adverse secondary effects, including but not limited to personal and property crimes, gambling offenses, weapon offenses, illicit drug use and drug trafficking, negative impacts on surrounding properties, urban blight and litter.”