Texas
Only on 13: At least 50 sex trafficking victims rescued after raids on 9 Houston-area businesses
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A major sex trafficking operation with drug cartel ties was busted in Houston on Friday evening.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, with help from the FBI as well as state and local police, carried out raids on nine nightclubs and bars in what they believe could be the largest operation of its kind in Texas history.
An Eyewitness News crew saw a heavy police presence at the La Condesa nightclub in north Houston. The TABC confirms it was one of the locations raided.
It’s the result of a 10-year-long investigation the TABC says netted multiple arrests and helped them identify at least 50 potential victims, who they say were held against their will at the businesses.
“It’s sad to see that human beings were held in these kinds of conditions,” TABC Chairman Kevin Lilly said in an interview only on 13.
The TABC says it declined the name of the cartel behind the trafficking operation, but said that each business contained between 10 and 20 women on average.
“They weren’t living in there, but that’s where sex acts were being conducted,” Lilly said.
The TABC said it filed emergency orders to shut down all nine businesses for the next 90 days.
“That goes into effect immediately. They are chained and locked,” he said.
These are the nine businesses police visited on Friday:
- El Flamingo Club, 3715 Aldine Mail Rt.
- Koko Bongo, 955 Federal Rd.
- Los Escorpiones #2, 1636 Federal Rd.
- Los Escorpiones #5, 2815 Luell St.
- El Cruzero Sports Bar, 7715 W. Hardy
- Bora Bora Sports Bar, 11028 Aldine Westfield Rd.
- El Rinconcito Night Club, 743 Freeport St.
- La Condesa, 8810 Jensen Dr.
- Las Margaritas Night Club, 210 E. Little York Rd.
For news updates, follow Luke Jones on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Texas
Texas vs. Arizona State Ticket Prices: Cheapest and Most Expensive Tickets for Peach Bowl
After getting through Clemson in the opening round of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, the fifth-seeded Texas Longhorns now play the No. 4 seed and Big 12 champion Arizona State Sun Devils. Arizona State and Texas will meet in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Peach Bowl as part of the CFP quarterfinal round.
The Peach Bowl kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day, the first of three quarterfinal games on the holiday.
The Sun Devils earned a first-round bye as the last of the four highest-ranked conference champions. Texas missed out on a bye due to a heartbreaking overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC championship game. The Longhorns cruised past Clemson, the ACC champion, in the first round with a 38-24 win on Dec. 21.
Although Arizona State received the bye and higher seed in the CFP field, Texas comes in as the favorite, higher-ranked team throughout the regular season. Texas finished ranked No. 3 in the CFP standings, while ASU was ranked No. 12. In the AP poll, Texas is ranked No. 4 and ASU is ranked No. 10.
This year marks the Sun Devils’ first CFP appearance. The Longhorns make their second appearance after they made the field last year before falling to Washington in the semifinals.
Now, Texas and Arizona state will battle in Atlanta to advance to this year’s semifinal. The winner will head to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl game.
Here’s what it costs to watch Texas and Arizona State in person at the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day:
As of Tuesday, the get-in price for the 2025 Peach Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinal between Texas and Arizona State is pretty affordable. The cheapest pair of seats on GameTime are $19 each in section 327, row 20 which is in the upper section behind the end zone. SeatGeek has seats in the upper corner for $23 each while TicketMaster has seats in the upper corner near the sideline for $25.
To sit in the lower level, TicketMaster has seats available for $40 each in section 102, row 47 which is behind the end zone. GameTime has similar seats available in section 101, row 51 for $42 apiece. Club-level seats, which provide access to all-inclusive food and drinks, start at $189 a seat on TicketMaster.
To have a premium seating experience at the Peach Bowl, you’ll need a club-level ticket which provide access to the handful of clubs on the sidelines at Mercedes-Benz stadium.
If you’re an Arizona State fan, you can sit in the second row behind the Sun Devils’ bench at the 50-yard line for $447 a seat, which you can find on SeatGeek. Tickets drop down to $249 each a section over, in section 111, row 3 on GameTime.
For Texas fans, seats can be found in the club-level toward the front of the opposite sideline for $399 each in section 127, row 2, which is behind the Longhorns’ bench at the 40-yard line. Texas fans can sit in the front row behind the sideline for $581. Those seats are all found on SeatGeek.
Texas
How to watch Arizona State vs. Texas in 2025 Peach Bowl: TV channel, live stream
The quarterfinal round has arrived for the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff, and the nation will finally get a look at one of the biggest Cinderella stories of all time — the Arizona State Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils were picked to finish last in their first season in the 16-team Big 12 by the media. They were projected to win 4.5 games by the oddsmakers.
And at the beginning of the 2024 season, the Las Vegas oddsmakers had ASU +10,000 to win the Big 12 Conference. That’s 100 to 1 odds. If you had wagered $100 on the Sun Devils to win the Big 12 in August, you would have walked away with $10,000.
How improbable has Arizona State’s run to the Peach Bowl been? According to Vegas Insider, the Sun Devils winning the Big 12 is the sixth-greatest upset in betting history, just behind the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004 (+12,000).
The oddsmakers continue to doubt the Sun Devils, listing them as 12.5-point underdogs to the Texas Longhorns in the 2025 Peach Bowl.
Arizona State is used to being in this position, and running back Cam Skattebo has unwavering confidence in the Sun Devils’ ability to compete at the highest level.
“They continue to keep saying that people are going to try to stop me.. There’s nobody out there that can stop me,” Skattebo said on Monday. “We played in 13 games, and I’ve been the target on each one, so I’m not too worried. We’re going to play our game and play ball and see what happens there.”
Here are details on how to watch No. 4 Arizona State vs. No. 5 Texas on New Year’s Day.
Arizona State vs. Texas TV channel, live stream
The oddsmakers have Texas as 12.5 to 13.5-point favorites. Here are the latest betting odds, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Who: No. 4 Arizona State vs. No. 5 Texas in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal
Spread: Arizona State +12.5 (-112)
Kickoff Time: Wednesday, Jan. 1 at 11 a.m. MST
Our Prediction: Arizona State 24, Texas 21
TV Channel: ABC, ESPN
Live Stream: Stream Arizona State-Texas live on fuboTV (Start your free trial)
Live Updates, Highlights: Follow the game on Arizona State On SI for live updates, in-game analysis and big-play highlights throughout Wednesday’s matchup
More Arizona State & Big 12 Analysis
Texas
Texas returns to Atlanta less than a month after losing SEC title game to face Arizona State in CFP
ATLANTA — The Texas Longhorns were in Atlanta less than a month ago, playing for a championship.
That one didn’t go as planned.
Now, the Longhorns get an A-T-L do-over when they face Arizona State at the Peach Bowl in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game on New Year’s Day.
Fifth-seeded Texas (12-2) insists it has gotten over the disappointment of losing an overtime thriller to Georgia on Dec. 7, a result that denied the Longhorns a title in their debut season as a member of the SEC.
“Of course we’re going to kind of feel that a little bit, but we kind of want to move on and just get ready for Arizona State,” Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. said. “They’re a good football team and we kind of don’t want to think about that (Georgia) game all over again.”
The Longhorns showed no signs of a hangover when they held off Clemson in the opening round of the expanded 12-team playoff.
If they can knock off Arizona State — Texas is a two-touchdown favorite — it will be back to their home state for a semifinal game against either Oregon or Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
Fourth-seeded Arizona State (11-2) has been one of the nation’s most surprising teams.
The Sun Devils went 3-9 a year ago in Kenny Dillingham’s first season as head coach. Making the move from the disintegrating Pac-12 to the 16-team Big 12, Arizona State was picked to finish dead last this season.
Instead, it was tied with three other teams for the top spot during the regular season and claimed the title all to itself in the Big 12 championship game, rolling past Iowa State.
This is a chance for Arizona State to prove to everyone that its stunning season was no fluke.
“We’re going to face one of the best teams in the country, if not the best team in the country,” Dillingham said Tuesday on the eve of the game. “It’s a really tall task for our guys. But by the same token, if you’re a competitor, you want to compete versus the very best in the best environments.”
Ewers vs. Leavitt
Quinn Ewers has a stellar resume as the Texas quarterback.
Sam Leavitt is out to prove he’s the better man.
The Arizona State QB has been a major reason for his team’s unexpected success. He’s eager for a head-to-head showdown with Ewers, who has passed for 2,867 yards and 26 touchdowns this season.
Leavitt has put up similar numbers, with 2,663 yards and 24 TDs.
“I’m just excited for the opportunity,” he said. “People keep counting me out since Day 1, and I’m going to go prove why I’m the better quarterback.”
Skattebo’s big stage
Cam Skattebo is Arizona State’s biggest star, a bowling ball of a running back who has become one of the rare players in FBS history to put up more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
He doesn’t lack for confidence, either, calling himself the best runner in all of college football.
The Peach Bowl provides a prime opportunity to back up his bravado, especially against a defense that has struggled with missed tackles.
“I feel like I’m the best,” Skattebo said. “I’m excited to play those guys because I’m going to present to them something new that they haven’t seen before. I’m excited, and hopefully they’re ready to play some football.”
Exes from Texas
The Longhorns will see plenty of familiar faces when they look across the line.
A half-dozen players on Arizona State’s overhauled roster used to play at Texas. They all ended up in Tempe through the transfer portal.
The list of ex-Longhorns players also includes receivers Jake Smith and Troy Omeire, defensive back Xavion Alford, defensive ends J’Mond Tapp and Prince Dorbah, and defensive tackle Zac Swanson.
“All those guys, obviously, they’ll be extra fired up to play the Longhorns,” Texas defensive back Michael Taaffe said. “Anytime you leave a school and you know some people, it’s always fun to play those guys.”
Dillingham said the Texas transfers have made a huge impact on the Arizona State program.
“We know what we’re getting when we’re getting a guy from that program, and that’s a guy who has worked really hard, competed and been pushed,” the Sun Devils coach said. ”Those are the things that we like to bring in.”
Turning it over
Turnovers usually play a key role in big games. It will be interesting to see how that works out in the Peach Bowl.
Arizona State has coughed up the ball only eight times, tied for the second-fewest turnovers in the FBS. Texas, on the other hand, has forced a nation-leading 29 turnovers.
Dillingham said it will be important to keep the pocket clean around Leavitt.
“It all starts with pass rush,” he said. “They get pass rush, they get tipped balls. Their defensive line gets in throwing windows.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian praised Skattebo and the rest of the Sun Devils for losing only three fumbles all year, to go along with five interceptions.
“You just don’t not fumble the ball. You work at not fumbling the ball,” Sarkisian said. “They’ve done a great job of controlling football games by not turning it over.”
Suspended star
Arizona State will have to play the first half without star defensive back Shamari Simmons, who is suspended for the first two quarters after being ejected for targeting in the Big 12 championship game.
“Shamari is a leader on our team,” Alford said. “It’s very unfortunate that he’s not going to be with us in the first half in the game, but he’ll still be there as a leader and as a teammate on the sidelines and things of that nature.”
Redshirt freshman Montana Warren will take Simmons’ spot in the lineup during the first half.
“God always has a plan, and I just feel like his plan right now is just basically showing who Montana Warren is to the world,” Simmons said. “He’s going to be a great defensive back for Arizona State for a long time coming.”
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