Illegal Backyard Volleyball Gambling Ring Busted In Massachusetts

If you think your summer cookouts get wild, you better step your game up.

Police in Milford, Mass., have uncovered a massive illegal gambling ring centered around backyard volleyball tournaments.

And we're not just talking about a few bucks here and there. Police estimate around $1 million each year changed hands at the home. Organizers set up the operation with volleyball games, picnic tables and a concession stand selling fried food and booze.

"I was blown away," Milford Deputy Police Chief Robbie Tusino said. "I even said to the owner after the fact, 'I got to tell you, I thought I was walking into Foxwoods.'"

Foxwoods is a huge casino in Connecticut, if you're unfamiliar.

And the tournaments were hidden in plain sight, too — less than a block from police headquarters.

Police had reportedly been monitoring the situation for months after neighbors regularly complained about traffic and noise coming from the home.

"There's about a hundred people there every night," neighbor Justin Ortega told 7 News Boston. "There's a lot of people there. It's illegal, you can't do it here. They got a place for it. Not the back of the house."

Participants bet on everything from volleyball to card games. The tournaments attracted teams from as far away as South Carolina, police said. Gamblers wagered upwards of $30,000 per night every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to NBC Boston.

"It's gone from something that was wholesome and pure, and a criminal element came into it and people are profiting," officer Tusino said.

Police arrested a woman named Zoila Castro and charged her with selling liquor without a license. They also brought the property owner into custody.

Tusino and he believes there may be six similar tournaments around the community.

Who knew volleyball could be so profitable?