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A raid at a casino inside the building led to three arrests. South Carolina Police raided a building in the community after a member of the public alerted them to alleged criminal activity.
It happened on 10 April in Irmo. Irmo is a town with 12,000 inhabitants in the Columbia Metropolitan region. South Carolina is a state that has Anti-gambling laws are strictThere are no brick-and mortar poker rooms that operate legally.
Poker Game Raid
Columbia’s CBS affiliateThe police were tipped off by members of Irmo’s community that an illegal gambling operation was taking place in an Irmo business suite.
According to police, they found that there were frequent poker tournaments in the suite where between six and twenty players attended. It is claimed that the host collected a share of winnings from the poker events.
Three individuals â Gary Watts (67), Adam Watts (28), and Daniel Schaffer (53) â were arrested during the raid and charged with keeping unlawful gaming tables. Seven more people on the site were accused of playing in a gaming establishment. During the raid, officers seized $15,000 in the room.
âThis type of activity is against state law, and will not be tolerated in Irmo,â said Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale in a statement. âWe have seen in past gambling operations that lives have been lost because of the financial greed of some involved. We will not allow this activity to be a part of our community.â
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD) assisted Irmo Police Department to carry out the sting to stop a fictitious illegal poker game.
Gary Watts, a former Richland County chief coroner. After he was released from custody by the police, Watts told WIS News 10 The whole situation was “blown up to proportion.”
Watts asserts that this is “simply not the type of operation” described by the police. âItâs a card game, itâs not a casino, itâs machines, itâs not drugs, itâs not anything. Itâs just a bunch of guys getting together to play cards, have a meal, have a few drinks, watch TV, share some laughs.â
Watts explained that he was hosting casual games for friends. Irmo Police dispute this claim.
âThere may be friendly games of gambling, poker that go on in other neighborhoods, other communities, however, our investigation was very thorough and it was very long,â police Chief Dale told WIS News 10. âIt basically determined that this is a business thatâs being run. Itâs not just a friendly game of poker. This is organized business, this was gambling.â
Police say that they have been investigating for many months. The search warrant was issued on 10 April. According to police, the search warrant was obtained on April 10.
South Carolina has strict gambling laws that can result in severe punishments. These include imprisonment, fines and confiscation of assets used for the offense.
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