TORONTO, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Ontario police busted up a Super Bowl party connected with an illegal off-shore gambling website, law enforcement officials said.
Six men with suspected links to organized crime and the Hells Angels motorcycle gang were arrested, though their identities hadn't been released by midday Monday, the Toronto Star said. All were affiliated with the gambling site Platinum SB, operating out of Costa Rica, but with an active presence in the Greater Toronto Area.
Police said the group has been known to employ violence when collecting gambling debts, including a 2004 shooting at a sandwich shop in North York, Ontario, when a young girl was paralyzed after being hit by a stray bullet aimed at a mobster who owed Platinum SB money.
Police said they took in more than $2.5 million during the raid and dispersed some 2,300 gamblers in attendance. They also shut down the Platinum SB website, which police said had 17,000 hits from confused gamblers Monday.
One man in attendance told the Star the party was "the most Hollywood scene you could ever imagine."
