The Florida Gaming Control Commission arrested Pen Arcade cashier Patrick Brown last week on multiple gambling charges after conducting a search of his establishment, according to a probable cause affidavit.
He was apprehended by FGCC agents following a search at Pen Arcade, located at 2047 West Pensacola Street, with the aid of the Florida Highway Patrol and the Tallahassee Police Department.
A search of the arcade center yielded 43 stand-up slot machines and 19 classic-style CPU slot machines.
The search warrant was granted after a FGCC undercover officer visited the firm in July 2025 to see if they were “operating an illegal gambling establishment,” according to court papers.
The officer noticed a “Community Board Cash Prize” in which customers who were actively playing when an alarm sounded were automatically entered to win the reward, according to the affidavit.
To win the community prize, a player has to be actively gambling, and their indicator light needs to remain illuminated green during play, when a random alarm sounds. When the alarm sounds, all players with a green community prize indicator are entered into a group. The manager/cashier or the point-of-sale computer system of the establishment then chooses a random name from the group as the winner of the community prize. This is a Florida Lottery violation as per Florida state statute.
Probable cause affadavit
According to court records, the officer wagered $20 when he entered Pen Arcade. Court records state that after logging into a computer, the officer was able to “select multiple pages containing different computer slot machine games.”
The officer then choose what game to play. “Once the game was loaded, the twenty dollars the UC gave the cashier showed on the screen as Sweepstakes points to bet/gamble with while playing the game,” according to the summons.
According to court documents, Brown was the cashier on duty during the search, and the undercover officer positively identified him as the same cashier when he conducted his original undercover operation in July 2025.
TPD took Brown to the Leon County Detention Facility after his arrest. Brown’s bond was set at $32,500 and he bonded out.
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