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

• Czech police arrest suspect after killing of Tony Bargig in Prague
• Bargig served prison time for operating 15 illegal casinos
• Casino interests in Prague remain unclear despite corporate record searches

Mystery surrounds the death of an Israeli businessman known as “the King of Slots” who was murdered in Prague on Wednesday (June 3), according to Czech police. Police said Friday (June 5) they had arrested a man in connection with the death, without offering more details.

Tony Bargig, who was prosecuted in his home country in 2020 for running a network of illegal casinos, was found dead in Prague’s Žižkov district, and authorities immediately launched a murder investigation.

Israeli media reports described Bargig as the owner of several gambling businesses in Prague, where he had been based for several years. Yet none identified a specific casino, and Casino.org found no clear evidence of gambling interests in the Czech corporate records.

In his native Israel, where gambling is illegal, however, Bargig was convicted of operating 15 underground casinos across the country.

Each location contained roughly six to eight slot machines, and the operation generated tens of millions of shekels, according to reports in the Israeli media at the time. Investigators believed the enterprise may have turned over between ILS ₪25 million (US$8.5 million) and ₪100 million (US$34 million).

Married to a Cop

The scale of the prosecution was unusually large for an illegal gambling case. The original indictment reportedly listed 366 prosecution witnesses, including dealers, gamblers, and managers.

The issue became controversial enough that police intelligence officers complained internally, arguing that an officer married to a known gambling target created obvious concerns.

Another was that Bargig was the son of respected Israeli soccer coach Nino Bargig, who managed several teams during his career, including Hapoel Rishon Lezion, Hapoel Be’er Sheva, and Hapoel Jerusalem. Tony Bargig was also a former soccer player.

Plea Deal

Bargig eventually reached a plea agreement in the case, and in May 2020, he was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, while agreeing to forfeit ILS ₪ 1 million (US$340,000) and to pay a fine of ILS ₪ 350,000 (US$119,000).

He later fought the Israeli Tax Authority over demands for tens of millions of shekels in alleged gambling income.

The incident led to a wave of retaliatory violence among Israeli crime syndicates in the early 2000s.