Montreal bookies hand over $1.1 million to government

Bookmakers are used to paying out big when it comes to risky ventures — just not to the government. But that is what 10 men did Thursday afternoon at the Montreal courthouse as they each turned over certified cheques, totalling more than $1.1 million, as part of their yet-to-be-determined sentences for running an illegal bookmaking operation for the Mafia in Montreal.