UPDATE – 11:56 PM:
Slog deals in with information from a man who was ‘questioned by police’ who has a slightly different interpretation of the situation than the former employee’s account: According to the man questioned by police, the speakeasies were an “art project” and the people involved “just love to play cards.” The Slog’s source also says the operation had only been running at 11th and Pike for six months but was the latest location in a series of speakeasies operated by the same person.

ORIGINAL REPORT:
This morning’s vice squad bust shut down a secret card room and saloon that has been operating at 11th and E. Pike for ‘several years,’ a former employee of the illegal casino says.

The employee, who asked to remain anonymous citing fears that he will be connected to the activities and arrested, said he worked at the business in various capacities including occasionally manning the door and the sliding window where late night gamblers presented the password required to gain entrance to the place everybody called ‘the speakeasy.’

While he wouldn’t identify the owner, the employee said the speakeasy was operated by a man who left ‘a pretty good job’ to run the card room and that customers included a ‘high profile DJ’ who was also among the people detained by police last night.

The employee said he no longer worked for the business but still frequented the establishment and had been hanging out there only a night before the big bust.

UPDATE – 3:25 PM
While we’re talking anonymous sources, aadamm chimes in with some information that I can’t vouch for:

My Sources (at the muni court and at Anne Michelson properties) are telling me that he was busted on drug charges. Running a poker game as a non-profit “friendly game” is -legal- in Washington state, and this might have been a private room that charges money to play… however this is apparently irrelevant (or was the excuse for the raid) I don’t think that you can get in a whole lot of trouble for just the gambling charge. The Tenant was arraigned today, I’m guessing the other players won’t face any charges

But I will modify my headline from ‘illegal card room’ to straight-up ‘card room.’

Meanwhile, it appears that the case might stretch across the city into other neighborhoods. There was a similar bust last night in West Seattle that the Seattle Police Department is remaining equally mum about citing an ‘ongoing investigation.’