Indian National Living in New York Pleads Guilty in Southwest Missouri Arcade Gambling Case

They were set up to look like arcades. Federal prosecutors say they were really illegal gambling businesses, and a third defendant has now admitted his part.

Sunilkumar N. Patel, 53, a citizen of India who lives in New York, pleaded guilty Sept. 3 in the case over six arcade-style businesses in southwest Missouri, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. He’s the third of nine defendants whose guilty pleas prosecutors have announced.

Patel admitted that he and his co-conspirators took in about $9.36 million from the operation, then laundered the money through a series of financial transactions.

He pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps Jr. to five federal charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.

What prosecutors say was really going on

In his plea, Patel admitted the businesses were run “under the guise of internet amusement arcade games, skill game arcades, and adult arcades.” Local employees were hired to work there, and the businesses offered contests of chance, gambling devices and slot machines in violation of Missouri and federal law, prosecutors said.

Four of the businesses were in Springfield: Big Win Arcade #1 and Spin Hitters on South Glenstone Avenue, Big Win Arcade #2 on East Commercial Street, and Vegas Arcade on South Scenic Avenue. The other two were Spin Zone in Joplin and Vegas City Arcade in Branson West.

According to the indictment, they operated from July 2022 until May 13, 2025.

Why the dollar amounts don’t match

If you’ve seen different figures attached to this case, there’s a reason. Each of the three defendants who have pleaded guilty admitted a different amount.

The first announced plea came in late April. Rahulkumar D. Patel, of Washington state, pleaded guilty to three conspiracy charges and admitted about $7.7 million in gross proceeds, according to IRS Criminal Investigation. Tushar R. Patel, of Georgia, followed in May, pleading guilty to the same charges and admitting about $9.5 million.

When prosecutors first announced the case in July 2025, they said the organization had laundered more than $9.5 million in a little over three years.

What’s next

A federal grand jury in Springfield indicted Sunilkumar Patel and eight others on 72 counts in May 2025. Prosecutors haven’t announced guilty pleas from the other six defendants, who are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Sunilkumar Patel faces up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each of four counts, and up to five years on the gambling conspiracy count. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled later; no date had been announced as of Sept. 13.

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