On Tuesday morning, police raided The Aviation Club de France (ACF), a more than 100-year old casino on one of Paris's finest addresses, and brought 12 persons into custody after allegations of breaches of employment law and money laundering.
Among the people who were taken into custody were several employees and the Director of the Games Committee Marcel Francisci, a figure of the Corsican politics who is close to France's former president Nicholas Sarkozy.
The AFC has about 200 employees and their future is now very uncertain...
"The police were already there at 6:00 this morning (Tuesday) when I arrived," an employee of 10 years told AFP news. "We still have a good fifty customers inside, most of them were Chinese players.
Another employee added, "It's a blow! It's done for us. 200 people will be unemployed tomorrow ... they (the police) came to close the circle. It's not an ordinary control."
The AFC opened its doors as a members-only gambling room in 1907. It became a public gambling room in 1925, and it stared offering poker in 1995. The AFC has hosted many major poker tournaments, including some stops on the World Poker Tour.
