Authorities said the owners and clerks of two convenience stores in Eatonton were arrested last week.
Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell said he had received numerous complaints that the stores were paying out cash winnings on their gambling machines.
“I got numerous complaints and we’re just going to be diligent in our job and continue working this,” Cardwell said.
On the morning of Thursday, Jan. 23, law enforcement officers with Eatonton Police Department, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia Lottery Corporation went to nine stores in the city and one in the county with search warrants.
According to Cardwell and Putnam Sheriff’s Lt. Harry Luke, only two of the 10 stores were found to be operating illegally. Those two stores are the BP, formerly known as the YM Mart, at 207 E. Sumter St., and the Quick Pantry at 301 S. Oak St.
The raids culminated in a joint investigation regarding cash winnings from coin-operated amusement machines (COAMS). These games of chance, which resemble slot machines, are legal in Georgia as long as the winnings are stored as credit or credit for other lottery games. However, the raided businesses were paying out cash winnings.
“People think it’s no big deal because they say ‘gambling is gambling, and it’s going to a good cause; it’s going to education.’ Well, no, it’s not,” Luke said, referring to the Georgia Lottery’s proceeds that are used to fund specific education programs such as tuition grants, scholarships, and the state’s prekindergarten program.
Luke explained that when a person buys a lottery ticket, 90% of the money goes to the Georgia Lottery, and the store retains 10%.
“But in this case (COAMs), it’s the complete other way around,” he said.
With the gambling machines, 56% of the money goes to the master license holder (there are only 12 master license holders in the state), 34% is the store’s profit, and the Georgia Lottery only gets 10%. Regarding the stores that were operating illegally, Luke noted their 34% profit “is folded once and put in their pocket; they’re not paying any taxes on it.”
The stores also paid their employees in cash.
“So, there’s no tax withholding,” Luke said. “But if you or I hire somebody, we’ve got to pay taxes on them, insurance, and social security, and it costs you. But they’re not doing that.”
Luke and Cardwell said the complaints came from other legitimate store owners. They explained that paying cash, alcohol, or tobacco prizes ensures a steady flow of customers and, thus, profits.
“When we got there, I told them, ‘You can’t be paying cash, you can’t be paying alcohol, and you can’t be paying tobacco,” Luke said. “And the owner of the store said, ‘If we don’t pay, the customers won’t come.’ And that’s what the other businesses in town that are legitimately trying to do it right are complaining to us about.”
They provided the example of one of the cash-paying stores on East Sumter Street, where $547,000 was put into the gambling machine from January until June last year. However, a similar store operating legitimately on Gray Road and another on Milledgeville Road only had $18,000 put into their machines the previous year.
“They pay out lottery tickets or gift cards like they’re supposed to,” Luke said. “That’s a legal win, a legal business right there.”
Arrested during Thursday’s raid were: Nilesh Kumar Shivabhai Patel, 51, of East Magnolia Street, Eatonton, charged with one count commercial gambling and released on $10,000 property bond; Quantavis Omar Harris, 36, of Crestview Drive, Eatonton, charged with two counts commercial gambling and released on $20,000 property bonds; Srinivas Gudisa, 26, of Sunnyland Drive, Eatonton, facing charges of two counts commercial gambling, released on $10,000 cash bonds; Kamleshkumar Patel, 58, of Sunnyland Drive, charged with one count commercial gambling, released on $5,000 cash bond.
Luke said the two stores’ COAM licenses were revoked pending an administrative hearing.
Cardwell and Luke both said they were glad they did not find any vaping products containing 20% to 50% above the legal limit of Delta-9 THC in the stores this year like they found last year.
During raids in January 2024, more than 17 store clerks and owners were arrested for selling the illegal vape products and/ or operating COAMs illegally.