Couple Sentenced In $5.8 Million Bingo Scheme

June 26, 2019

Two Escambia County residents have been sentenced in a $5.8 million bingo scheme.

Larry L. Masino, 69, of Santa Rosa County, and Dixie L. Masino, 66, of Escambia County, a were both found guilty by a jury of conspiracy and money laundering charges related to their ownership and operation of Racetrack Bingo in Fort Walton Beach.

The Masinos, through Racetrack Bingo, illegally conducted bingo games by keeping a substantial amount of the bingo proceeds for themselves rather than returning all proceeds to players in the form of prizes, as required by law. The Masinos received and laundered $5,813,584 in profit between 2006 and 2015.

Larry Masino, the original orchestrator of the illegal bingo scheme, was sentenced to twelve months and one day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. His ex-wife Dixie Masino, who took over as the face of the operation in 2010 after Larry was prosecuted in Tallahassee for running illegal bingo games there, was sentenced to four months of house arrest as a part of a five-year probation term.

In addition to receiving sentences of incarceration, house arrest, and probation, the Masinos were jointly ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $5,813,584. The government has already seized more than $1.5 million from the Masinos’ bank accounts and forfeited three properties, the proceeds of which will be applied toward the court-ordered money judgment.

Comments

5 Responses to “Couple Sentenced In $5.8 Million Bingo Scheme”

  1. How's that work on June 26th, 2019 4:03 pm

    What happens to the millions of dollars and properties the government has seized from these people. Are the victims going to get their money back. That’s a lot of people scammed playing bingo to amount to five million.

  2. William Reynolds on June 26th, 2019 3:17 pm

    >>Do these people have anything to do with the Century Bingo that closed mysteriously within a few weeks after opening ?

    No

  3. Chelleepea on June 26th, 2019 3:14 pm

    Do these people have anything to do with the Century Bingo that closed mysteriously within a few weeks after opening ?

  4. anne 1of2 on June 26th, 2019 11:45 am

    Do these two have friends in high places or what? They never seem concerned about getting caught.

  5. James on June 26th, 2019 6:06 am

    Received a one year sentence after being previously prosecuted for the same crime elsewhere? Doesn’t require a crystal ball to see how he’ll likely attempt to acquire the restitution following his release. Weak sentences encourage repeat behavior!