By Cristina Rivera
Special to the Mercury News

Just a decade ago, San Jose’s cardrooms were earning headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In 2000, a Santa Clara County grand jury brought forward a 168 count indictment against 55 defendants for criminal activities at the city’s casinos. Among the list of felonies: loan sharking, extortion, drug dealing, assault, credit card fraud–even witness intimidation.

The problem was so bad some city council officials wanted to end gambling in San Jose altogether. But the card rooms cried foul, promised to clean up their act and welcomed new regulations…

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