Police Bust Poker Game in Irmo, SC: 10 Face Criminal Charges

On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, police in the small South Carolina town of Irmo shut down an alleged illegal gambling ring, arresting 10 and seizing $15,000 in cash. The participants were engaged in a game of poker when the raid occurred. The operation was conducted jointly by the Irmo Police Department, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

More Info About the Shutdown

Law enforcement decided to investigate the underground poker game following tips from the public regarding illegal gambling taking place at an office suite next to a children’s day care center. The police found out that poker games were regularly held at the location with between 6 and 20 people attending. Organizers would retain a portion of the winners’ proceeds at the end of the game.

Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale commented:

This type of activity is against state law, and will not be tolerated in Irmo. We 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.

Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale

About the Individuals Charged

Three people were charged with keeping unlawful gaming tables: Gary Watts (67), Gary’s son Adam Watts (28), and Daniel Schaffer (53). Seven other unnamed individuals were charged with playing at a gaming house. All were released and will have to appear at a court hearing in June.

Gary Watts is notable for being a former Richland County coroner. He served in this capacity for 20 years over five terms before losing an election in 2020.

What Does South Carolina Law Say?

According to statements by the police, some of the accused are facing charges of keeping unlawful gaming tables while others stand charged with playing at a gaming house. We can view the definitions of these crimes within the South Carolina Code, Title 16, Chapter 19, which deals with gambling and lotteries.

Here, we encounter Section 16-19-40, entitled, “Unlawful games and betting”:

If any person shall play at any tavern, inn, store for the retailing of spirituous liquors or in any house used as a place of gaming, barn, kitchen, stable or other outhouse, street, highway, open wood, race field or open place at (a) any game with cards or dice, (b) any gaming table, commonly called A, B, C, or E, O, or any gaming table known or distinguished by any other letters or by any figures, (c) any roley-poley table, (d) rouge et noir, (e) any faro bank (f) any other table or bank of the same or the like kind under any denomination whatsoever or (g) any machine or device licensed pursuant to Section 12-21-2720 and used for gambling purposes, except the games of billiards, bowls, backgammon, chess, draughts, or whist when there is no betting on any such game of billiards, bowls, backgammon, chess, draughts, or whist or shall bet on the sides or hands of such as do game, upon being convicted thereof, before any magistrate, shall be imprisoned for a period of not over thirty days or fined not over one hundred dollars, and every person so keeping such tavern, inn, retail store, public place, or house used as a place for gaming or such other house shall, upon being convicted thereof, upon indictment, be imprisoned for a period not exceeding twelve months and forfeit a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars, for each and every offense.

What this longwinded passage basically means is that anyone playing “any game with cards or dice” in any of a lengthy list of places can be convicted and sentenced to up to 30 days imprisonment or fined up to $100. There is a list of games that are except from this, as long as no betting is going on, but poker is not on the list. Seven of the cited individuals are being charged under this section of law.

The other three people who were arrested appear to have been charged under Section 16-19-50, “Keeping unlawful gaming tables”:

Any person who shall set up, keep, or use any (a) gaming table, commonly called A, B, C, or E, O, or any gaming table known or distinguished by any other letters or by any figures, (b) roley-poley table, (c) table to play at rouge et noir, (d) faro bank (e) any other gaming table or bank of the like kind or of any other kind for the purpose of gaming, or (f) any machine or device licensed pursuant to Section 12-21-2720 and used for gambling purposes except the games of billiards, bowls, chess, draughts, and backgammon, upon being convicted thereof, upon indictment, shall forfeit a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars and not less than two hundred dollars.

Anyone keeping a gaming table of the specific types described along with any “of the like kind or of any other kind” used for gaming is in violation of this law. They are susceptible to being convicted and having to pay a fine of between $200 and $500.

There’s an exception, which we have omitted here for the sake of brevity, that applies to businesses that deal with gambling equipment meant for out-of-state deployment in states where gambling is legal. This provision clearly does not apply to the Irmo defendants.

There’s a carveout to the strict South Carolina gambling statutes for “certain social games of tiles, cards, and dice,” which is explained in Section 16-19-60. However, the games that qualify for this exemption are very narrowly defined and do not include any games with “betting, wagering, or gambling of any kind,” so poker is definitely not included within the wording of this section.

Some good news for the seven accused of playing at a gaming house comes in Section 16-19-100 where we see that anyone who pays the fines imposed along with the cost of prosecution can avoid being imprisoned.

How Is S.C. Gambling Law Enforced?

Many other states have specific language permitting private poker games or at least they don’t bother to enforce the stricter aspects of their anti-gambling statutes against friendly, low-stakes poker games. However, South Carolina takes a different approach.

There have been many instances in the past of the S.C. authorities breaking up friendly poker games and prosecuting the participants. For example, in 2006, 20 people were arrested for participating in a weekly poker game. The case actually went to the South Carolina Supreme Court with some of the defendants challenging the 200-plus-year-old law for its vagueness and incomprehensibility and contending that poker was a game of skill and thus not covered by anti-gambling laws.

The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled, in Town of Mt. Pleasant v. Chimento that the law was not obsolete and that poker’s status as a skill game did not preclude it from being considered gambling. Writing for the majority, Justice Pleicones explained:

Whether an activity is gaming/gambling is not dependent upon the relative roles of chance and skill, but whether there is money or something of value wagered on the game’s outcome.

Earlier this year, 13 people in Myrtle Beach were charged with gambling crimes related to poker home games. And in 2010, a raid of a Greenville poker game turned violent when the police attempted to execute a no-knock warrant by forcibly breaking down the door. The alarmed host of the game fired his gun believing he was facing a robbery attempt causing officers to return fire, leaving two wounded.

South Carolina is even on the short list of states that have attempted to go after offshore poker providers. In October 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s Greenville Office, the Secret Service, and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office seized more than $2.1 million from a couple of companies that were processing payments for the online poker industry.

Defendant Fires Back

The former county coroner being charged with keeping unlawful gaming tables has not remained silent regarding the charges. Gary Watts explained in an interview with WIS-TV:

This was not a money-making operation. This is a situation where there was just some place that was safe to go and, you know, have a good time with your friends…It’s a card game. It’s not a casino. It’s not machines. It’s not drugs. It’s not anything. It’s just a bunch of guys getting together to play cards, have a meal, have a few drinks, watch TV, share some laughs.”

Gary stated that any money collected went to defray expenses, such as the cost of food.

Gary Watts, Charged With Keeping Unlawful Gaming Tables

However, we have already seen that the severe S.C. laws do not require that any gambling be a for-profit, money-making venture in order to be illegal. The fact that it was a social game among friends also doesn’t prevent from being contrary to the law.

Police Chief Dale said:

There 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. It basically determined that this is a business that’s being run. It’s not just a friendly game of poker. This is organized business; this was gambling…Our biggest concern was the safety of the community. This is happening inside of a neighborhood next to a day care, you never know what can go south when these operations are going on. Guns could be carried, there’s a lot of money on the table, and we just wanted to make sure we were going to prevent something from happening.”

ProfRB’s Opinion

It appears to us that the defendants’ game was almost certainly illegal under the draconian stipulations of South Carolina law. However, we also feel strongly that this law is stupid.

As noted by one of the defendants, Gary Watts, the type of conduct for which he and his buddies were cited is the kind of activity that happens in countless places across the state among friends. How officials in the Palmetto State attempt to enforce this law and against whom appears to be at the whim of local police chiefs or prosecutors. This raises the possibility of the law being unfairly applied and used to settle personal grudges and animosities rather than being an impartial arbiter as it should be.

Those who advocate for an update to the South Carolina code in order to align it with modernity seem to have a very compelling argument. Looking back into the text of Section 16-19-40, we see references to such games as “roley-poley,” “rouge et noir,” and “faro,” which had their heyday in the 18th or 19th century. If the authorities in Columbia wish to see the populace take the laws seriously, then the statutes have to be drafted in such a way as to address society as it is today not as it was in the distant past.

We don’t think much of Police Chief Dale’s assertions that the game was targeted in order to prevent shootings and other disturbances that threaten the safety of the community. It seems to us that poker games present these issues only when the game is illegal and specifically because it’s against the law. The solution, once again, would be to update the laws so that such games are not banned and forced to go underground.

Online Poker Unaffected

Poker fans in South Carolina do definitely face challenges playing the game live, but online is a different story altogether. Ever since the events of 2011, the state has not again attempted to disrupt internet poker sites. Even in that case, it was the operators who saw their funds confiscated, not individual players. The laws on the books have never been used to prosecute anyone for playing poker online from South Carolina.

Ignition Poker is our #1 recommended site for South Carolina residents. If you want to play online today and also score a 150% up to $1,500 bonus, then click the button below to visit Ignition’s website and open an account:

For a rundown of other exciting venues for offshore poker, check out this page about internet poker in South Carolina. If you reside in another state, then be sure to browse over to this guide to online poker in the USA. For more information about online poker and the law, you can read this article about U.S. online poker legality.