Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
ANDERSON — Authorities busted a video poker gambling operation after executing a search warrant on an Anderson homeowner. Eric Peoples has been charged with keeping a gaming house and unlawful possession or operation of slot, video, vending machine or gambling device, according to State Law Enforcement Division arrest warrants. This past September, agents with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office and SLED found Peoples to be in possession of illegal devices, particularly 10 “Pot-O-Gold” gaming machines, according to warrants. The machines were found in a gaming house operating in the backyard of Peoples’ home, which he said had been in use for the past year and a half, authorities said. The warrant characterizes the charges as “against the law, peace and dignity of the State of SC.” Video gambling machines were once ubiquitous in South Carolina businesses before years of intense debate led to lawmakers banning them. The ban came at the same as the Legislature approved a state-run lottery advertised as a mechanism for funding education initiatives.
