Poker Writer
A South Carolina man was sentenced to five years of probation as he pleaded guilty to being a partner of a large-scale video poker operation. James Helms of Chapin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in an illegal gambling business.
According to the indictment, the 73-year-old was part of an organization that was making as much as $100,000 per week. The illegal poker machines were located in Lexington, a suburb of the state capital, Columbia.
Kingpin Busted Just Months Before
The scheme operated directly from the home of Fred McCary, a 68-year-old who was busted in October as the Lexington video poker kingpin. The judge sentenced him to a six-month stint in a federal prison and an additional six months of home confinement. McCary has a long history of illegal gambling violations, dating back to a 1993 arrest for bookmarking and a 2008 arrest for gambling at a gaming house.
The video poker operation was open from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.daily and used two shifts of workers to oversee the business. The property had 25 “Pot O Gold” slot machines and video gaming machines.
McCary and Helms were just two of the people included in the five-person conspiracy. The investigation into the operation began in 2023.
James Helm Says Arrest Saved His life
The lawyer for Helms, Jake Moore, said that his client was actually thankful for the arrest. The aging Helms was reportedly relieved that the arrest saved his life. Since the arrest, he has gone through drug rehabilitation for an addiction to oxycodone.
Moore said about the defendant:
He got addicted to prescription medicine, couldn’t get off it, and wound up trying to make some money to pay for a problem. He said he wanted to thank the officers for arresting him because if he hadn’t gotten arrested, he’d be dead by now. He said he felt like drugs and gambling had ruined his life, and he asked the court to accept his apology.
Illegal Live Poker in Nearby Irmo
The state of South Carolina has some of the strictest gambling laws in the country. The state is known to impose punitive penalties on those who abuse the law. A 2024 raid of an alleged illegal poker game in nearby Irmo, another suburb of the state capital, resulted in a lawsuit against the state police.
