Elgin man gets 4 years for running Super Bowl pools

An Elgin man who ran illegal Super Bowl gambling pools at taverns in Elburn and St. Charles was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison.

Michael A. Alvarez Sr., 53, pleaded guilty March 17 in Kane County Circuit Court to keeping a gambling place, a Class 4 felony.

The charge stemmed from two Super Bowl gambling pools Alvarez was accused of running between Sept. 1, 2006, and Feb. 28, 2007, at Emma's Pub and Cantina in Elburn and Miguel's on the Fox in St. Charles.

Both bars were owned by Alvarez's wife, but he managed them and headed up the gambling pools - one of which was valued at $60,000, police said.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Greg Sams argued for Alvarez to receive prison time as a way to deter others from committing the same offense. He also noted Alvarez's "long history of delinquency," which included three previous convictions for gambling-related offenses and three previous prison terms.

"This is what the defendant does, what he chooses to do," Sams said at a hearing before Judge James C. Hallock. "This defendant does not get it. He's not going to get it."

Alvarez's defense attorney argued putting his client in jail would serve no purpose other than to put more pressure on an already burdened corrections system. He told Hallock the case was an example of "selective enforcement" of gambling laws, indicating Alvarez was unfairly targeted, and asked for probation, fines and community service.

The judge disagreed.

"It's not for the court to decide what is good gambling and what is bad gambling," Hallock said. "The defendant's history shows probation would serve no purpose in this case."

By statute, Alvarez must serve at least half of the prison term. After sentencing, he was taken into custody by two Kane County officers.