| Illegal Gambling Machines Seized in Lexington Co. |
| (Lexington) - SLED agents raided three Irmo
businesses Thursday after complaints of illegal video
gambling. The complaint came from a News19 viewer who called us, then called SLED. A brief investigation ended Thursday morning when agents seized five machines from Carolina Wing's, Tony's Party Shop, and Hemingway's. Owners declined to comment to News19, but one customer spoke out. Chris Conner says he's been a regular at Hemingway's for at least ten years. "I've seen the games there and I'm sure they were just for fun." Unfortunately, fun or not, the machines themselves are still illegal. "It doesn't make a difference whether they pay out cash or not," says Inspector Stacy Drakeford with SLED. Agents say that's something a lot of business just don't seem to get. In addition to the bars in Irmo, SLED also brought in 13 machines from the Upstate Thursday night. Statewide, they've seized 140 in the last month alone. That brings the total now sitting in storage to more than 2,400 - a number Inspector Drakeford says will only continue to grow. "The individuals will go back and put machines back into these locations after we've seized them." Each business now faces a $500 fine. If agents cite them again, they could lose their liquor licenses. |