Poker Writer
A former South Carolina coroner is suing police over his 2024 arrest for what was being called an illegal poker game at the time. Charges against the man have since been dropped, and he is now seeking damages for what he claims was a false arrest.
Gary Watts worked as a coroner for Richland County in central South Carolina. He was arrested last April following a raid on his poker game, which was taking place in a rented office suite in Irmo. Ten other people were also arrested, including Watts’s son, and the police seized over $15,000 in cash.
Now the 68-year-old Watts is taking law enforcement to court 19 months after the initial arrest. The lawsuit claims that those accused were playing poker among friends and not violating South Carolina state law. The lawsuit states:
Irmo PD and SLED knew or should have known that Watts and 10 others were not committing any crime and that there was no probable cause to forcibly enter the office suite and arrest these law-abiding citizens for playing cards with their friends.
SLED refers to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
One of the key aspects of the lawsuit clarifies that Watts and others were not collecting rake from the game, which is what would have made it illegal. The lawsuit claims that nobody in particular was running the game and that the only money being taken out of the pot was used to pay for catered food and drinks.
The lawsuit also claims that the investigator admitted to playing poker for money during the trial. Watts was initially convicted but had the verdict overturned on appeal.
Watts is seeking lost wages and asking for consequential damages in the lawsuit. One of these damages was law enforcement allegedly not announcing their presence with a search warrant. He alleges that SWAT teams in full tactical gear, including assault rifles, shattered a glass door, yelled and charged in.
Disproportionate Response to a Poker Game
At the time of the arrest last year, Watts immediately said the raid and charges were “blown out of proportion”. Wistv news quoted him:
It’s a card game, it’s not a casino, it’s 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.
However, Irmo police disagreed and said the poker game was a clear illegal gambling operation.
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.
SLED did not have a follow-up comment on the lawsuit this week.
South Carolina has some of the strictest anti-gambling laws of any state in the country. It is illegal to play poker for money in a private home. Getting caught playing cards in a private home can lead to criminal charges. Despite the state law, Watts claimed that games like his are “going on every night in every community around the state.”
Raids on underground poker games happen on a regular basis in the U.S., including a couple this April. One involved a Florida poker pro being accused of running an illegal poker room, while another saw alleged members of the Lucchese crime family getting busted in New Jersey.
