73-year-old Chapin man avoids prison for $100,000 video poker scheme

A 73-year-old man from Chapin, South Carolina, has been sentenced to five years of probation after it was uncovered that he intended to “engage in illegal” gambling businesses. James O. Helms helped run a “large-scale gambling organization” in Lexington, Kentucky.

Helms pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in the illegal business, which reportedly drew in up to $100,000 per week at its peak. However, Helms was not alone in the gambling ring, as he worked with Fred McCary, who was separately arrested and sentenced to six months in prison and then six months of house arrest.

The scheme involved running a video poker operation, which was run out of McCary’s properties and home. Between 11 am and 2 am, two shifts would be run, requiring separate workers to keep it going.

Helms has avoided prison entirely and hasn’t been fined in any capacity. Effectively, as long as he remains out of trouble for five years, Helms has avoided any other legal headaches this brings.

South Carolina remains one of the few states enacting total gambling ban

A vast majority of gambling is illegal in South Carolina. State lottery, charitable gaming, and Daily Fantasy Sports are allowed. Even though online gambling is banned in one of the few states that still block the activity, despite its ever-growing hold over America.

Currently, there’s a push to get the first casino licensed in the state. A new proposal from January 13 would redirect 35% of all casino revenue to land conservation, in an attempt to make the act of gambling used for good.

There’s also a proposed 15% tax on casino revenue, which could push the state’s overall gains to a maximum of $39.3 million. That figure might look paltry compared to other states, but this is for a theoretical single casino.

Featured image: Peter Mai via Wikicommons / CC BY-SA 2.0

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