As thrill-seekers emerged in 2021 from pandemic-induced isolation, the businessman at the center of the racketeering allegations against now-suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez extended his interests to a number of Central Florida casinos running Las Vegas-style games.

He was not discreet, giving his ventures names like “Players Club,” with flashy signage along busy highways. He set up shop in high-profile locations in Osceola County, where investigators say he had a key ally in the former sheriff, and — newly obtained records reveal — in Lake County, where the county government was then sanctioning gaming establishments through an unusual permitting process.

Unlike Lopez and five other associates facing criminal charges, the businessman, Krishna Deokaran, who was named in ope

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