Galveston County: Five women arrested, 80+ machines seized from 'illegal' Dickinson game room, authorities say

DICKINSON - An undercover investigation led to the arrests of five women along with the seizure of over 80 gambling machines and over $1.5 million, according to Galveston County authorities.

Galveston County crime: Illegal Dickinson game room shut down

What we know:

According to the County Sheriff's Office, a task force had been investigating an illegal game room called "Mardi Gras" in Dickinson. 

During the investigation, 64-year-old Nancy Herndon was identified as the primary owner and manager of the establishment. 

Search warrants were executed in the game room and at Herndon's Texas City home. 

Authorities say they took 81 gambling machines from the game room. They also claim to have seized about $42,000 from the game room in addition to $1.52 million from Herdon's home.

Photo credit: Galveston County Sheriff's Office

Herdon allegedly admitted to being the owner of the game room. She has reportedly been charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity and Money Laundering.

Four other game room employees were also arrested, according to the Sheriff's Office. The following women are also said to be charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity:

• Summer Gilliland, 56
• Irene Salazar, 53
• Angela Coffman, 54
• Michelle Gilliland, 64

Officials say an arrest warrant is still active for 58-year-old Maria Anaya.

What we don't know:

No other details are available at this time.

What they're saying:

The Galveston County Sheriff's Office added the following to the arrest announcement:

"𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟’𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬."