Israeli ‘King of Slots’ Murdered in Prague as Police Arrest Suspect

Israeli ‘King of Slots’ Murdered in Prague as Police Arrest Suspect

The murder of an Israeli businessman known as "the King of Slots" in Prague on Wednesday, June 3, is shrouded in mystery, according to Czech authorities. Without providing further information, police said on Friday, June 5, that they had detained a man in relation to the death.

When Tony Bargig, who was charged in his native country in 2020 for operating a network of illicit casinos, was discovered dead in the Žižkov neighborhood of Prague, officials promptly opened a murder inquiry.

According to Israeli media sources, Bargig had been based in Prague for a number of years and owned a number of gaming establishments there. However, none named a particular casino, and Casino.org was unable to locate any conclusive proof of gambling interests in the corporate records from the Czech Republic.

However, Bargig was found guilty of running fifteen underground casinos throughout his own nation of Israel, where gambling is prohibited.

According to accounts in the Israeli media at the time, each location had between six and eight slot machines, and the operation brought in tens of millions of shekels. The firm may have turned over between ILS ₪25 million (US$8.5 million) and ₪100 million (US$34 million), according to investigators.

Wife of a Police Officer

The prosecution's scope was out of the ordinary for a case involving unlawful gaming. Dealers, gamblers, and managers were among the 366 prosecution witnesses identified in the initial indictment.

The fact that his wife, Nurit Bargig, was a police officer while he was reportedly being investigated was one of the reasons the case attracted a lot of attention.

The matter grew so contentious that police intelligence officers filed internal complaints, claiming that there were clear issues with an officer married to a known gambling target.

Another was that Bargig was the son of renowned Israeli soccer coach Nino Bargig, who oversaw a number of clubs over his career, including Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, and Hapoel Rishon Lezion. Tony Bargig used to play soccer as well.

Plea Agreement

After reaching a plea deal, Bargig was sentenced to 15 months in prison in May 2020. He also agreed to pay a fine of ILS 350,000 (US$119,000) and forfeit ILS 1 million (US$340,000).

Later, he battled the Israeli Tax Authority over claims of gambling income totaling tens of millions of shekels.

The Israeli media has compared his killing in Prague to the 2002 murder of Felix Abutbul (1951–2002), an Israeli organized crime leader dubbed as "Netanya's Gambling King," in the same city.

In the early 2000s, Israeli crime syndicates responded to the tragedy with a wave of retaliatory violence.