Larry Flynt buys Normandie Casino; card rooms dodge house-banked bullet

Larry Flynt, founder of the Hustler adult entertainment empire, has bought California card room Normandie Casino.

On Thursday, the California Gambling Control Commission unanimously approved the porn baron/civil liberties champion taking over the Normandie property, which was founded by Russ Miller in 1947 and had remained under the control of Miller family members ever since.

The sale price wasn’t disclosed, but the Miller family was the very definition of motivated sellers, having been given 120 days to sell the property after state regulators revoked the gaming licenses of four Millers in April.

In January, federal authorities imposed a $2.5m penalty on the Normandie’s owners for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. Casino staff were found to have advised customers on how to structure transactions to avoid federal reporting requirements and failed to flag other dodgy transactions.