In order to succeed in business, entrepreneurs have to be able to think outside the box and introduce new solutions to existing problems. That’s the route one inspiring and would-be businessman took when he decided to turn the casino floor at the Encore Boston Harbor into a pop-up methamphetamine drug store last September. Either that, or he was just really high. 

32-year-old Matthew Gorman of New Hampshire decided that it didn’t make much sense for meth users to have to go out of their way to purchase their vice, so he brought the vice to them. According to reports, Gorman was caught red-handed last September at the Wynn Resorts-owned property and busted for possession of meth, as well as two semi-automatic pistols and three large-capacity magazines. As a result, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office slapped him with five counts of possession of a large-capacity firearm, two counts of possession of a loaded firearm and a single count of possession with intent to distribute meth, considered a Class B substance.

The charges were upheld by a grand jury in Massachusetts’ Middlesex County. Given the fact that casinos have a great amount of experience monitoring and surveilling those who visit their properties, it would have been difficult for Gorman to find a way to plead not guilty, even if he hadn’t been caught with all the evidence in his possession. Massachusetts casinos began to reopen in July following a shutdown caused by COVID-19 and, even if security was a little rusty, casinos have too much at risk not to remain vigilant. With reduced capacities in response to the pandemic, security personnel and the eyes in the sky have a much easier time keeping tabs on what is happening on casino floors.

Now that the grand jury has weighed in on Gorman’s entrepreneurial spirit, next comes the sentencing. It will be up to a judge to determine the best penalty for his crimes, but it’s doubtful his spirit is going to be rewarded kindly. According to Massachusetts law, intentionally distributing meth is worth ten years in prison and a fine of as much as $10,000. Add to that possession of a large-capacity firearm, and the sentence jumps to at least 15 – five years for each possession charge. If Gorman is sentenced for all five firearm possession charges, he could be looking at 35 years behind bars.