Some bear only opaque windows and a buzzer, found by word of mouth. The “game rooms,” as they’re known in the industry, don’t advertise and often don’t appear on Google Maps. The Tampa Bay Times visited nearly 30 gambling arcades to watch this scene play out. Yet if you are in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco or Manatee County, illegal slots are never far away. With few exceptions, like the Seminole Hard Rock casino on a 9-acre reservation outside Tampa, slot machines are illegal in Tampa Bay - and the rest of the state.
The manager allowed a photo on the condition that the Tampa Bay Times not disclose the game room's exact location. A gambler plays a slot machine at an arcade in the Kenneth City area of Pinellas County.
