The Leflore County Sheriff’s Department confiscated 13 illegal gaming machines Tuesday night in a home off Grenada Boulevard.
Curtis George Williams, 53, 513 E. Washington St., was charged with possession of illegal gambling machines and released on bond.
Sheriff Ricky Banks said deputies went to the home on Peachtree Street at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday after receiving complaints over the weekend. They found 23 of the motherboards that operate the gambling devices and 13 of the actual machines, he said.
The first time someone is caught with an illegal slot machine it’s a misdemeanor. The penalty is a fine of up to $500 and three months in jail.
But if that person gets busted again, it’s a felony with jail time of between six months and two years.
The illegal slot machines aren’t regulated like the ones at casinos in Mississippi, so there’s no way to know how much they pay out.
Rob Vickery, a staff officer with the state Gaming Commission, said casino slot machines are required by law to pay out at least 80 percent. So someone gambling $1 could expect to make back 80 cents over the long run.
Vickery said he would expect the payout on illegal machines to be “substantially less.”
“They’re not bound by law to begin with, and then they’re trying to maximize profits,” he said. “So I doubt that anyone’s hit big on an illegal slot machine.”
The Gaming Commission has agents who enforce laws against illegally machines, and Vickery said they’ve done raids in Coahoma and Humphreys counties recently. He said they keep one machine as evidence and destroy the rest after photographing them.
The commission often goes after suppliers who provide machines to many pool halls, convenience stores and the like, Vickery said. The machines, which resemble old arcade games, typically are pieced together “fairly locally,” he said.
• Contact Charlie Smith at 581-7235 or csmith@gwcommonwealth.com.
