Texas Mayor Busted Over Illegal Gambling Den in Back of Laundromat

Texas is a place that is surprisingly deprived of almost all forms of gambling. Online casinos and sports betting are a no-go, and the only available tribal casinos are far – on the the state’s border.

This has forced some people to get creative and also identify what they would consider a “business opportunity.” 

One Texas Mayor in Hot Water over Illegal Gambling Business

This was the exact thinking of a Texas mayor, also as a school administrator, who was busted by police over an illegal gambling den he was running in the back of his laundromat business, much like the grandmother of Young Sheldon was in the eponymous TV show. 

Identified as Christopher Armacost, the mayor of Hitchcock, a small town next to Galveston, had set up the business in the backroom of the laundromat, which he used as a front to run his far more lucrative venture. 

His business was hit as part of a wider operation, which saw 21 search warrants executed on that same day, leading to the arrest of two dozen arrests. 

After his arrest last Wednesday, he has since been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. Police were able to seize gambling machines from the property – five devices that they deemed to be too similar to slot machines, hence the arrests. 

Slot machines are illegal in the state of Texas. The arrest was enacted swiftly after an undercover officer visited the venue, named Comfort Zone Washateria, and spent $20 on the gambling machines before exchanging their tickets for cash. 

The next day, police returned with a search warrant and arrested the attendant, Nancy Landert, who had an outstanding order. Upon examination of her electronic communications, the police found out that she had been discussing the operations with Armacost himself. 

Armacost has since responded through his lawyer to at least one media outlet, namely ABC13, in which he maintained his innocence. 

“Some of the most important rights granted to Americans by the Constitution are the presumption of innocence and the right to confront your accusers in court to test the strength of those accusations.”

The Mayor Intends to Defend Himself as a Private Person 

Armacost said that he was going to defend his case as a private citizen and that he refused to argue in the media over his arrest: 

“I have been charged by the State with offenses as a private citizen and business owner. Neither my work as Mayor for the City of Hitchcock nor my work as an administrator for Hitchcock Independent School District has been implicated in these charges. It is with that in mind that I intend to defend myself as a private citizen and decline to fight this case in the media.”

Sheriff Jimmy Fullen said that the Armacost’s business has been investigated for over five months, with the first complaints starting to come in October 2025. 

The sheriff said during his Friday press statement that he was surprised to findout that the department had an outstanding warrant for the mayor. 

“When I found out we had an actual warrant on him, it surprised me, it really did,” he said.