JOLIET – A man will avoid “the penalty box” of jail for running a football gambling operation out of a Plainfield bar.

Michael J. Magers, 53, was sentenced Thursday by Judge Edward Burmila to 15 months of probation, $750 in fines and 100 hours of community service.

Magers managed the now-closed Penalty Box Bar & Grill, 16108 Route 59 in Plainfield, when he was arrested by state police in February 2014.

Magers was found guilty in November of keeping a gambling place and faced up to a year in prison. He also was charged with syndicated gambling and money laundering, but Burmila decided it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt Magers had taken bets in such large amounts.

But Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Dant Foulk said video surveillance showed Magers opening the safe in the bar’s back office that contained gambling proceeds, and that he offered an undercover officer the chance to buy $500 and $200 football squares.

“In total we showed there were $33,700 in bets and [suspect] substantially more,” Foulk said. State police began the gambling investigation while looking into reports the bar was trading in counterfeit NFL and NHL jerseys and memorabilia.

Besides selling “Super Bowl Squares,” Magers took $1,000 “flip card” wagers, where bettors write their names on lines against scores which are “scratched off” as quarters or games end, according to reports.

Foulk noted Magers told police he didn’t work at the bar, but was seen acting as the manager on video surveillance. He also reportedly told an informant he was a part-owner of the Penalty Box.

Defense attorney Steven Haney noted Magers is supporting two stepchildren and has not been convicted of a felony in more than 20 years.

“I don’t mean to sound like a bad James Cagney movie line, but it certainly struck me the defendant was the ‘brains of the operation’ and [possibly] lied to police so others could continue [running] the gambling there,” Burmila said before he handed down the sentence.