Video poker crackdown

Web posted July 15, 2000

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By Sylvia Cooper
Staff Writer

The Richmond County Sheriff's Department shut down three video arcades Friday and arrested two people on commercial gambling charges in connection with making cash payoffs.

Richmond County sheriff's Deputy Scott Neal loads a video poker machine onto a truck after a raid of Pot of Gold on North Leg Road. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

The vice squad also confiscated 45 video poker machines, about $9,000 in cash and two handguns in the city's effort to keep South Carolina's outlawed video poker industry out of Augusta.

The arrests and seizures were the result of a two-week undercover operation , which discovered arcade employees making cash payoffs for points accumulated on the gaming machines, said Lt. Stoney Turnage, chief of the sheriff's department vice division.

Officers served search warrants simultaneously at these locations at about 11:30 a.m.:

Pot of Gold, 1513 North Leg Road, owned by Jesse Hooper, 3834 Belair Road. Officers arrested and charged employee Patricia M. Herron, of the 3900 block of Belair Road, with three counts of commercial gambling. They also seized 32 video machines, about $5,000 in cash and two handguns, Lt. Turnage said.

K.C. Collectibles, 2326 Lumpkin Road, owned by former Richmond County Sheriff William A. ``Bill'' Anderson, of the 1900 block of Richmond Hill Road. Officers seized eight machines and about $2,800 in cash. They arrested employee Leroy Nichols of the 2400 block of Head Chapel Road in Blythe and charged him with two counts of commercial gambling.

Lt. Stoney Turnage (left) and Investigator Roderick Berry keep track of the money confiscated Friday. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

Hair Professional and T's Gift Shop, 3096 Deans Bridge Road, owned by Charles Cathcart, of the 2400 block of Juniper Road. Officers seized five machines and about $1,000. They still are seeking an unidentified employee who made the cash payoff to the undercover officer, Lt. Turnage said.

The sheriff's department will move to have the owners' business licenses revoked, he said.

Sheriff Charlie Webster said he ordered the undercover operation two weeks ago because he was not going to tolerate the South Carolina video poker parlors moving to Augusta.

``Every damn place over here is going to have 'em if you don't stop it,'' Sheriff Webster said. ``It will spread like a sickness.

``They're offering all kind of things to clubs. They're offering them all kinds of money if they will just put the machines in. It's getting pretty rough.''

The arrests and seizures were designed to send a message to the video poker industry, and there will be others, Lt. Turnage said.

The city will expand its efforts to discourage video gambling in Augusta. One target will be the Cherry Master machine, which Lt. Turnage and City Attorney Jim Wall said is illegal if players can redeem merchandise or scratch-off lottery tickets.

Mr. Wall persuaded Augusta commissioners to deny an arcade license to J.B. Gordon last week because Mr. Gordon planned to put three Cherry Masters in his proposed business on Gordon Highway. Georgia law requires that some skill be involved in the game if redemption is a factor.

Mr. Wall contends no skill is involved in winning on the machines, and he intends to get the ones that give tickets for redemption shut down, he said.

An investigation by The Augusta Chronicle found Cherry Masters that give tickets in exchange for accumulated points at four locations, including Pot of Gold.

Tickets from machines at AMF Masters Lanes on Gordon Highway may be redeemed for merchandise or Wal-Mart gift certificates, manager Pat Lee said.

Tickets from Cherry Masters at Brunswick National Lanes on Washington Road may be redeemed for merchandise at the lanes. Also, tickets from machines at the Holiday Market on Skinner Mill Road may be redeemed for store merchandise, according to a clerk at the store.

Lt. Turnage acknowledged Cherry Masters are ``all over the place.''

``And they're not supposed to be redeeming on those machines,'' he said. ``There's a redemption law on machines that have a certain amount of skill on them. You can redeem your points for prizes or gift certificates. We found there is no skill involved in that game. So if you accumulate points, the only thing they can do is allow you to play your points off.''

When asked why some businesses were issuing tickets for redemption, Lt. Turnage said that was a good question.

``We're going to have to find that out and make them all aware of it,'' he said.

Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228.